[Archived] Back Or Sack?

[darrenrover]

I was unsure and in truth still am.

I would have preferred an experienced head 12 months ago, considering our financial position and apparent necessity to get promotion this season. As you can only assume that view wasn't held within the club (?) and perhaps there is some master 2/3 year plan (?), I can understand the rationale of giving Bowyer a chance.

In this circumstance, I guess Bowyer has done ok this season. He's signed a few players who have proved to be decent acquisitions, some who the jury is still out on and half a dozen that are head scratchers in terms of what was he thinking of. He has achieved a mid table league position, so if that was the plan, mission accomplished. The accolades of moving on the dross and reducing the wagebill are premature IMO, as we will have probably paid the majority of their salaries whilst out on loan and all, with the exception of Orr, will all be back at Brockhall after their jollies to Dubai and The Carribean etc., what then?

During this season, GB has also demonstrated several apparent negative traits, ( lack of courage, questionable decision making, naive tactically on occasions, stubborn and has had a dig at an already tetchy fan base). Some characteristics will improve with another seasons experience but others fall into the either you've got it or you ain't category. Can he go for the jugular?

Then there's the s word, whilst Bowyer has contributed towards the relative normality, the major part has been as a result of the removal of self serving, poisonous nutters from day to day affairs. Then there's the Lunes in Pune, ploughing millions into a toy that's never played with (?) and have previous of pulling the trigger when the club is stable and following it up with several crackpot appointments and a relegation.

So I guess just as The Raos were/are in a confused state, so am I. It would certainly help the decision making process if questions were answered. The main one being what's the plan?

[Bucksrover]

Glad to see that backing is the popular vote now.

I hope there is a good crowd saturday and there is a buzz about the club going into next season.

[Proudtobeblue&white]

I was unsure and in truth still am.

I would have preferred an experienced head 12 months ago, considering our financial position and apparent necessity to get promotion this season. As you can only assume that view wasn't held within the club (?) and perhaps there is some master 2/3 year plan (?), I can understand the rationale of giving Bowyer a chance.

In this circumstance, I guess Bowyer has done ok this season. He's signed a few players who have proved to be decent acquisitions, some who the jury is still out on and half a dozen that are head scratchers in terms of what was he thinking of. He has achieved a mid table league position, so if that was the plan, mission accomplished. The accolades of moving on the dross and reducing the wagebill are premature IMO, as we will have probably paid the majority of their salaries whilst out on loan and all, with the exception of Orr, will all be back at Brockhall after their jollies to Dubai and The Carribean etc., what then?

During this season, GB has also demonstrated several apparent negative traits, ( lack of courage, questionable decision making, naive tactically on occasions, stubborn and has had a dig at an already tetchy fan base). Some characteristics will improve with another seasons experience but others fall into the either you've got it or you ain't category. Can he go for the jugular?

Then there's the s word, whilst Bowyer has contributed towards the relative normality, the major part has been as a result of the removal of self serving, poisonous nutters from day to day affairs. Then there's the Lunes in Pune, ploughing millions into a toy that's never played with (?) and have previous of pulling the trigger when the club is stable and following it up with several crackpot appointments and a relegation.

So I guess just as The Raos were/are in a confused state, so am I. It would certainly help the decision making process if questions were answered. The main one being what's the plan?

Plan, plan......are you in Loonland! The "plan" was CL football within 3 minutes! There is no plan!! Shelfie sits in his office, counting his wage, wandering how lucky he is.....meanwhile the Loons bankroll us into where?

Not having a go, just frustrated fan from Clitheroe, wandering what on earth is to become of us.

I presume ST sales still not sorted as the Chosen Ones still think we might go up?

A sign would be good, and not just the ones erected for Liz's visit........will someone with any knowledge speak....I doubt it!

Rant over......

[Proudtobeblue&white]

PS - our doyenne hasn't spoken since, well I can't remember......do they still think we are in the PL? Off to my quiet place now.....

[Darwen Rover 007]

Has bowyer given us our Rovers back...

On the field (which he is largely responsible for) he most definitely has...

We have a team with heart, spirit and talent...

I think he's been the best thing since Mark Hughes... Id have said big sam but I recall the huge amount of negativity towards him n his football which wasn't the prettiest in fairness

Bowyer has made huge progress foundations in place time to kick on next season

[Mike E]

Changed my vote to full backing for next season.

[OsloRover]

Of course the club should back GB, anything else would be insane. Get a grip.

[rovers11]

Will be changing my vote from 'review at the end of the season' to 'fully back for next season'.

End of season form has been excellent and convinced me he no doubt deserves to be manager next season as well.

How on earth has he not been nominated for manager of the month?! We picked up the most points and scored the most goals so how can they justify him not being on there? Perhaps they've been reading this forum and come to the conclusion he's a poor manager

[AllRoverAsia]

I have changed to full backing for next season and hope for better tactical nous or perhaps just bigger balls will do. Anyway I'm willing to wait and see.

talk about fickle!

[Bucksrover]

I think a big positive late on was that when Evans and Cairney are fit they both start. When Marshall is back I am really hoping that Williamson is used very sparingly (if at all.)

[AggyBlue]

Plan, plan......are you in Loonland! The "plan" was CL football within 3 minutes!

Was that a 'plan' or was it one of many 'porkies' that someone threw at them so they would part with oodles of cash?

[Blue blood]

I would argue that this could "failure" could be levelled at the players - i think virtually every manager on the planet when winning games and seeing the opposition make 3 attacking substitutions would throw on an extra midfielder/defender and tell the players to "keep it tight"... I think Bowyer has the tactical acumen but can he blend a little more "experience" into the squad so that we can "park the bus" when required?

Not sure on this at all. Blimey there's loads to praise Bowyer for; form slowly getting better, being better than the previous numpties and most of all his eye for a good player. However saying Bowyer has tactical acumen is a hard statement to back up. Where's the examples of this? Other than it's the players fault when it goes wrong - which is NOT the same as Bowyer having acumen but offering another source of blame for throwing away so many points.

Consider:

• The number of times we've thrown points away from winning positions
• The number of times we've failed to break down teams there for the taking
• The Yeovil post-match comments
• Leaving us with only 2 center backs for nearly a month
• The persistence with Williamson and Lowe together - and not just when there are no options.

Don;t get me wrong Bowyer has his positives, and he's done a decent job - if not there'd be no debate on here. But to me his tactical acumen is his Achilles heel, and badly lets him down. The question is, can his abilities overcome this weakness? Or does this weakness, when we absolutely have to get up next season (just look at the championship revenue thread if you disagree) mean we should look elsewhere?

I was unsure and in truth still am.

I would have preferred an experienced head 12 months ago, considering our financial position and apparent necessity to get promotion this season. As you can only assume that view wasn't held within the club (?) and perhaps there is some master 2/3 year plan (?), I can understand the rationale of giving Bowyer a chance.

In this circumstance, I guess Bowyer has done ok this season. He's signed a few players who have proved to be decent acquisitions, some who the jury is still out on and half a dozen that are head scratchers in terms of what was he thinking of. He has achieved a mid table league position, so if that was the plan, mission accomplished. The accolades of moving on the dross and reducing the wagebill are premature IMO, as we will have probably paid the majority of their salaries whilst out on loan and all, with the exception of Orr, will all be back at Brockhall after their jollies to Dubai and The Carribean etc., what then?

During this season, GB has also demonstrated several apparent negative traits, ( lack of courage, questionable decision making, naive tactically on occasions, stubborn and has had a dig at an already tetchy fan base). Some characteristics will improve with another seasons experience but others fall into the either you've got it or you ain't category. Can he go for the jugular?

Then there's the s word, whilst Bowyer has contributed towards the relative normality, the major part has been as a result of the removal of self serving, poisonous nutters from day to day affairs. Then there's the Lunes in Pune, ploughing millions into a toy that's never played with (?) and have previous of pulling the trigger when the club is stable and following it up with several crackpot appointments and a relegation.

So I guess just as The Raos were/are in a confused state, so am I. It would certainly help the decision making process if questions were answered. The main one being what's the plan?

Good post. Think a bit harsh on his signings, but the rest, especially the bits in bold. Perhaps a little harsh on Bowyer's ability in the transfer market but overall an excellent summary of the decent job and reasons for it, that Bowyer has done. Is this enough? Am not sure.

One think I'm growing increasingly certain about is that this must be the last chance saloon. Heck - I think we're pretty much at the edge of the last chance saloon, holding onto the doorway by our finger tips as we're dragged out. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but this stick or twist decision could well define the fate of our club.

[Tom]

I'm also in the opinion that he has earned a crack next season with the some aim of promotion - preferably with a new assistant.

I would certainly be keeping a close eye on it though and have options in mind in case we drop away from where we need to be

[McClarky]

We're currently 9 poits better off than we were last year so some progress has been made and on that basis I would stick with GB. He's made some good signings and also some bad ones but he has been lucky in that, despite the dire financial situation, he has been able to bring a lot of players in. far too many in my opinion. His big test is what happens from now really. I hiope he has learnt that less is more sometimes when you are building a squad and you don't necessarily improve things by constantly bringing people in. The post January loan market was a classic case for me, great signing in Keane but Varney and Feeney...... surplus to requirements from the day they arrived.

A good window this summer would see at most 3 or 4 people coming in to supplement the good players we have with a lot of squad clearance going on to try and balance the books and also balance the lopsided squad we have.

I'm not sure GB is the best man for the job but he's the 1 we have and I would stick with him and see how he gets on.

[martonrover]

I'm also in the opinion that he has earned a crack next season with the some aim of promotion - preferably with a new assistant.

I would certainly be keeping a close eye on it though and have options in mind in case we drop away from where we need to be

Although I can't warm to him personally I would agree that it would be harsh to sack him, (and a backward step if he were to be replaced by a muppet).

However, next season we need to be challenging for the top two places with the Play Offs being the fallback option, (those of us old enough know they usually end in heartache).

Let's be right in there rather than 'flirting' with the promotion places.

With regards to an experienced assistant, I'd be surprised as Bowyer will probably be worried that he is indirectly appointing his replacement should we not make a good start.

[JAL]

Rovers have conceded nearly sixty goals in just 45 games that in itself represents a very poor performance from Gary Bowyer and his team.

When out of possession Gary Bowyer and his coaches have failed to improve Rovers as a team despite bringing in 19 players.

[Jimmy612]

Rovers have conceded nearly sixty goals in just 45 games that in itself represents a very poor performance from Gary Bowyer and his team.

When out of possession Gary Bowyer and his coaches have failed to improve Rovers as a team despite bringing in 19 players.

Easy there tiger:

59 goals conceded in the season is poor in relation to the clubs above us, just about level (on average) with the clubs around us excluding Brighton, and obviously better than the clubs 12th or below.

Now: You forgot to mention that we have only conceded 18 goals at home and a lousy 41 away from home.

Our away goals conceded is actually the joint highest in the league, whilst our Home goals conceded is second best joint with QPR, behind the Dingles

Focusing on the obviously poor away goals conceded, and for the sake of fair argument (because you really have skewed it);

We also have the second highest goals scored away from home (behind Leicester and Derby joint top). So whilst you carry on about conceding goals, we have also scored a lot, which you conveniently forgot to mention. This can't be right can it? I thought Bowyer always played it safe? Perhaps not....

On the road we have won 7, drawn 9, and lost 7. 9 draws is the second highest in the league AGAIN, and is where the real frustration kicks in because quite easily those draws could and should have been wins. I refer to Sheff Wed away, Barnsley away, Watford away and arguably Blackpool away. Oh and Wigan away (cheers Grant).

In summary; Yes it's frustrating to concede goals, but we've also had a bloody good go at scoring them as well. Will you credit Bowyer for creating a team that goes away to score goals or will you only point out the negatives? Let's have some balance here.

[ABBEY]

Balance .. Last week there was only Yeovil who has conceded more away goals this season than us.

[JAL]

Easy there tiger:

59 goals conceded in the season is poor in relation to the clubs above us, just about level (on average) with the clubs around us excluding Brighton, and obviously better than the clubs 12th or below.

Now: You forgot to mention that we have only conceded 18 goals at home and a lousy 41 away from home.

Our away goals conceded is actually the joint highest in the league, whilst our Home goals conceded is second best joint with QPR, behind the Dingles

Focusing on the obviously poor away goals conceded, and for the sake of fair argument (because you really have skewed it);

We also have the second highest goals scored away from home (behind Leicester and Derby joint top). So whilst you carry on about conceding goals, we have also scored a lot, which you conveniently forgot to mention. This can't be right can it? I thought Bowyer always played it safe? Perhaps not....

On the road we have won 7, drawn 9, and lost 7. 9 draws is the second highest in the league AGAIN, and is where the real frustration kicks in because quite easily those draws could and should have been wins. I refer to Sheff Wed away, Barnsley away, Watford away and arguably Blackpool away. Oh and Wigan away (cheers Grant).

In summary; Yes it's frustrating to concede goals, but we've also had a bloody good go at scoring them as well. Will you credit Bowyer for creating a team that goes away to score goals or will you only point out the negatives? Let's have some balance here.

Just pointing something out thats holding the team back question is can Gary Bowyer and his team improve this area of play as its not like Rovers are up against world beaters every week.

[thenodrog]

A point I've made repeatedly. Until we learn how to keep possession and kill a game when we are in front we will continue to leak goals. We have been defensively naive on many occasions.

[JAL]

Its an area for improvement thats definitely required form Gary Bowyer and his assistants. The way things have gone this season I dont they are capable of achieving this.

[Guest Norbert]

I agree Gordon. CThere have been many games where we take the lead, and then start fumbling possession etc. and let the other team build pressure.

[TBTF]

Balance .. Last week there was only Yeovil who has conceded more away goals this season than us.

Balance...yet they didn't concede at Ewood mores the bloody pity

[No Nay Never]

Just pointing something out thats holding the team back question is can Gary Bowyer and his team improve this area of play as its not like Rovers are up against world beaters every week.

Yes and Rovers aren't world beaters either, and that's the point some people cant grasp. People complain about the standard of football, but this is simply the standard of the championship. Leicester are champions, anybody overly impressed with them?

[Stuart]

Yes and Rovers aren't world beaters either, and that's the point some people cant grasp. People complain about the standard of football, but this is simply the standard of the championship. Leicester are champions, anybody overly impressed with them?

If we had landed at this level naturally people would probably have an easier time grasping it. We used to be the best club in Lancashire, now we are barely third.