[Archived] Back Or Sack?

[booth]

Which year?

[old darwen blue]

Oh no, we're not sacking another manager surely?

[Paul]

I've only read Kamy's article and not the comments to this point. Kamy puts forward a reasonable argument for retaining GB and if we are honest the manager has done nothing which warrants the sack

That's the problem though - the manager has done nothing, like everyone else in a senior position at Ewood.

Why do we have stability now? All the boat rockers have left and it wasn't GB who cleared them out.

On the pitch it is now Bowyer's team. A bland, predictable, unimaginative team that creates no excitement. It's all a bit "nice" with no balls. We completely lack imagination and creativity, there are no exciting players.

Are we stable on the pitch? Probably and with this sort of squad will remain so, an average mid-table Championship side. Promotion isn't a possibility and if it was achieved would result in relegation the following season as we have no PL quality players. Financially that would probably be a positive outcome.

We've been "four points off the playoffs" - that's a mantra for some - all season. Truth is the team isn't good enough to capitalise on others failure. It's the manager's team so it's his responsibility.

I didn't go on Wednesday. Why? My lad didn't want to - increasingly so for night games these days. I thought about going. I got home from work tired, it felt cold outside. Line of Duty was on the telly at 9.00pm and that plus a whisky was a more attractive option. There I've admitted it, nothing to do with Burnley, I just didn't fancy it.

I've put the Raos to the back of my mind until the chance comes to change things. In the meantime I'd just like to watch some mildly enterprising football. It's not asking too much. Will it happen? No.

We will carry on going when Tom wants to. Cold Wednesday nights in Blackburn he doesn't like and so we will only be there in Saturdays. Why is it like this? The Raos destroyed his team, he doesn't understand and I don't have the energy any more.

Shame really. Is that a reason to sack the manager who is a decent man? No.

No one ever asks me "how did Rovers get on" these days.

Sighs

[Stuart]

Despite only a few posters commenting either way (less than 20?), it appears from the vote that the vast majority have run out of patience or are only prepared to continue with their blind faith until the end of the season - at which point it would be reviewed.

So, despite a feeling from the fans - and, going off Wednesday's zombie-like effort performance walkabout, the players too - that there is nothing to play for now, I think Bowyer himself will be under even closer scrutiny. The remaining 12 of the season could be a mini league for him.

So I'll ignore the last 3 games - despite the shame, humiliation and embarrassment (are we still embarrassed any more?) and see what happens between now and the end of the season. I can't say fairer than that.

As it stands:

P0 W0 D0 L0 F0 A0

[chaddyrovers]

Only 153 fans have vote so far.

45% of the vote say sack him

45% of the vote say keep him

10% of the vote unsure.

Fans look split on this issue. Just like most issues.

[47er]

Only 153 fans have vote so far.

45% of the vote say sack him

45% of the vote say keep him

10% of the vote unsure.

Fans look split on this issue. Just like most issues.

Eh? That's a rosy interpretation, why am I not surprised! What % want to unconditionally give him next season?

[mattjansen]

If you look at the players brought in and the ones that left its an awful improvement, getting the likes off cairney, evans, marshall, gestede and spurr for almost peanuts is great work by GB. Then his way of using some of them leaves some questions.

But injuries has been hard on us this season, imagine a whole season with them and Robinson from the start.

[Stuart]

Eh? That's a rosy interpretation, why am I not surprised! What % want to unconditionally give him next season?

I don't know why you bother. You will never get him to see it any other way. If he's nearly 30 then so is Bart Simpson.

[Jim Royle]

Surely every club in every division in every country reviews the managers performance at the end of a season and assesses against pre-defined targets and then makes decisions on how to progress for the following season. Fools not to, as most other businesses do not have such a well defined "year end" and have the time to react before fielding next seasons product.

[matt83]

Only 153 fans have vote so far.

45% of the vote say sack him

45% of the vote say keep him

10% of the vote unsure.

Fans look split on this issue. Just like most issues.

That's not my reading of it. Out of 154 votes (must have been extra vote)

69 say sack him either now or end of season

68 say review him end of season or not sure (sitting on fence for now)

Only 17 say give him next season.

Either way wouldn't say fans are split seems to be a clear winner thus far

[Wing Wizard Windy Miller]

For: Cairney, Evans, Gestede, Spurr, Marshall, Kilgallon, Conway

Against: Everyone else he' brought through the door.

He's shifted some deadwood (but lets not for forget most are on loan and will be back).

The main reason I voted sack now is his completely defensive mindset, lack of motivation, lack of a settled game plan and atrocious subs. Appleton got the boot for exactly the same. We're heading only one way.

[Waggy76]

Not convinced the signing of Spurr was great work...

Cairney , he refuses to play him in centre midfield ..Decent player but no engine ...

Evans is ok needs match fitness..

Gestede , not sure about that could be because of Bowyers negative tactics though..

Kilgallon injury prone , why no cover when Dann was sold ?

Taylor, Judge , Marrow 2 gone the other will in summer ..not good enough ..

Varney and Feeney a complete waste of time and money !

Kane gone backwards this season ...

Conway to me is not fast enough ..Marshall was starting to perform a bad loss..Think thats why we signed Conway ..

Eastwood not good enough ...Talk of him getting new contract why ?

The best players at the club are Robinson , Hanley , Dunn and Rhodes ..

All of which may not be here come August , if so creek without paddle comes to mind ..

[yoda's brother]

He stopped the rot and steadied the ship but we've had numerous opportunities to kick on which he's said at times but come match day failed to grasp the bull by the horns. That's unfathomable for a team that's supposed to need promotion or bust. No leadership from upstairs though to pull him aside and say time to step it up. Deggsy on a nice little number, just plod on and if he gets sacked it's pay off time. He went attack at Leeds and we won, why? Because his lynchpin was out so he had to alter tactics. People keep saying we are better off than last season, off the pitch it would seem true but on it if we carry on loosing and the rot sets in again well we aren't are we !

this

[yoda's brother]

3 games ago we were praising him on here saying his tactics were spot on for reading away. We're on a bad run that coincides with some key injuries to cairney, Hanley, killgallon etc. I'm not saying he hasn't made mistakes... He has.. But my opinion is this job was not a quick fix. I would give him another season personally.

must have missed that

[Jimmy612]

Do you honestly think that a team in the Championship, with an 8 million quid striker sets it's objective for the season as a mid table finish?

Depends how good you think your squad is surely? And based on the fact that striker is worth about £3m tops, I'd say mid-table (as I predicted in August), would be a relatively decent result.

[Jimmy612]

I don't know why you bother. You will never get him to see it any other way. If he's nearly 30 then so is Bart Simpson.

I think the same about you every time we cross that magical border into the JR thread Stuart

[Parsonblue]

Depends how good you think your squad is surely? And based on the fact that striker is worth about £3m tops, I'd say mid-table (as I predicted in August), would be a relatively decent result.

I couldn't agree more Jimmy. That's why the friends who I go to away matches with and who have never heard of this messageboard, let along use it, all believed that a mid-table finish would represent a good season. It was the view in August last and still remains their view. Hence they are more than happy with the progress that the club have made under Gary and are happy for him to continue next season. As am I.

[Stuart]

I think the same about you every time we cross that magical border into the JR thread Stuart

I walked right into that one.

[Willie Eckerslike]

Yep, it's like owners really. What could possibly go wrong?

So you'd rather not change our owners then?

[booth]

Depends how good you think your squad is surely? And based on the fact that striker is worth about £3m tops, I'd say mid-table (as I predicted in August), would be a relatively decent result.

His point was that spending £8m on a striker, and keeping him shows intentions of promotion not mid table.

I couldn't agree more Jimmy. That's why the friends who I go to away matches with and who have never heard of this messageboard, let along use it, all believed that a mid-table finish would represent a good season. It was the view in August last and still remains their view. Hence they are more than happy with the progress that the club have made under Gary and are happy for him to continue next season. As am I.

That's just daft. So you can't change your opinion based on what you've witnessed in many months. The fact is, despite the turmoil, and wherever you predicted we would end the season, had Bowyer not been tactically wanting for many matches we would have more points and would be still contenders in the play offs.

[den]

I couldn't agree more Jimmy. That's why the friends who I go to away matches with and who have never heard of this messageboard, let along use it, all believed that a mid-table finish would represent a good season. It was the view in August last and still remains their view. Hence they are more than happy with the progress that the club have made under Gary and are happy for him to continue next season. As am I.

If you're suggesting the views on this messageboard don't tally with rovers fans in general PB, as some posters have done in the past, then take a look at the comments in the LT. You usually find that both sites square up quite nicely.

[Jimmy612]

I appreciate what GB has done Parson, and I also don't buy into this horse kean of 'look at the table, no improvement.' This has been a season of transition, lifting a club off of it's knees, a squad full of overpaid mercenaries to shift and replace with certainly a limited budget (£2.5m or so??). I feel personally that we have a far better squad now than we did this time last year, including some very decent talents in Cairney, Marshall, Evans, Gestede etc.

Be honest now, all of you - who expected promotion after the last three years and the complete mess that the club was in? It has been frustrating at times, and this last week has been a massive test for everyone at the club, but let's not pretend that promotion for most of us was pie in the sky.

Do I think GB is the right man to take us forward? I'm honestly completely torn by it. Unfortunately for Gary, he doesn't, and never really has struck me as a manager. He appears to lack authority which for me has always been a recipe for disaster. Some Charlie was telling me before the season that 'a manager can be friends with his players' I don't believe that for a second personally. His tactics have at times been completely baffling. An insistence to play 4-4-2 when we are getting mullered by the opposition is one that I cannot fathom - his substitutions rarely change a game positively.

I do think that there are better managers out there, no doubt about it. But given recent history would I trust these morons to select the right man? I saw someone post the other day saying 'we can't just keep him because they might replace him with another shocker'... Well, we keaning can. If I asked you to hold your hand out and twatted it with a ruler, would you do it again?

The situation is a horror show really. Not one person on here knows whether this season is promotion or bust. I think this in itself has resulted in an anxiety amongst the fan base; an impatience to achieve promotion before th'Indians do a bunk. Had it not been a 'supposedly' kean or bust season, how many on here would be more relaxed about the situation, perhaps recognising the positive changes to the playing staff and giving Bowyer a full summer to gel what we have now, perhaps adding 3 or 4 extra bodies instead of the complete squad overhaul that we have seen?

[Amo]

If we've flirted with the Play Offs then I've flirted with Keira Knightley as I once drove a train into Kings Cross whilst she was filming a scene.

Been some classics in this thread!

[Jimmy612]

His point was that spending £8m on a striker, and keeping him shows intentions of promotion not mid table.

That's just daft. So you can't change your opinion based on what you've witnessed in many months. The fact is, despite the turmoil, and wherever you predicted we would end the season, had Bowyer not been tactically wanting for many matches we would have more points and would be still contenders in the play offs.

Oh does it? I thought it showed that no one is daft enough to even think about matching the ludicrous fee that we paid for him, thus, no where else to go.

Trust me if anyone had come in with a 'decent' bid for Rhodes he would have been long gone. Unfortunately for us he isn't worth half of what we paid for him - something I've been saying since about December 2012.

Eight million pounds what on earth were they thinking

[den]

Be honest now, all of you - who expected promotion after the last three years and the complete mess that the club was in?

No one did Jimmy.

That isn't the defining argument though. It's the replacing of one huge underperforming squad with another, the clueless performances, the baffling substitutions, the lack of any kind of game or transfer plan etc, etc.

What has anyone seen to suggest next season would be any different to this one? Well recently there's more to suggest it will be worse. That's what it's all about. Keeping Bowyer because we've finished mid table - assuming we do - after bringing in 19 of his own players does nothing for me.