[Archived] The Championship 2015-2016

[donnermeat]

Says a lot about the man that he hasn't put on record some sort of thanks.

[grizfoot]

Says a lot about the man that he hasn't put on record some sort of thanks.

Not many managers say thanks for being sacked do they?

He does however say that's he's "delighted" the club is out the transfer embargo, which is a positive comment.

[Tom]

And then uses it as a reason for his failures

[DE.]

Not many managers say thanks for being sacked do they?

He does however say that's he's "delighted" the club is out the transfer embargo, which is a positive comment.

Wouldn't take much to at least thank the players, if not the fans or the club. The squad were clearly trying for him right until the end, even though ultimately he wasn't giving them the motivation or preparation necessary to succeed. There were sections of the fanbase that supported him until the bitter end as well, he could acknowledge that. The fact he hasn't thanked anybody suggests he's quite bitter about how it ended here. The comment about being delighted about us being out of the embargo is just a set up to excuse his failures, an attitude Lambert clearly believes played a part in the club accepting mediocrity.

To copy what I said in the Lambert thread, where this story has also been posted:

Would be happy for Reading to employ him, as I think that would be one other team out of the picture in terms of being a threat to the playoff places.

Interesting that he says he has been focusing on what went well. Ideally you focus on what didn't go well to try and avoid the same issues happening in future.

With a clean slate Bowyer might improve, though. There was a lot of unavoidable baggage he inherited when taking the manager's position, both from his time at the club previously and from the issues the club had faced up until that point.

Wonder if he's interested in the Fulham position, too?

[Mercer]

_{A lot of these clubs deserve what they get. Just can't understand Fulham thinking about either Gray or Pearce in particular. IMV, neither of those will get them anywhere near the PL.}

_{As for Reading, should have let Clarke go to Fulham (even encouraged him) and would have saved them serious bucks. Could understand it more if Clarke wanted to talk to a PL club but Fulham, a sideways move at best. IMV, Reading would be crazy to appoint Bowyer unless they want to stabilise as a club in mid Championship.}

_{Great appointment by QPR. I would have been happy if he had been Rovers' choice.}

_{All in all, Lambert's appointment looks smarter and smarter by the day. Onwards and upwards.}

[JBiz]

Correct Mercerman and the swiftness of our actions have been completely against the mistakes of the past!

A win today and I'll be joining you in the land of high expectations for the first time in years.

[AllRoverAsia]

Clarke was finished at Reading as soon as he chose to speak to Fulham and by failing to agree personal terms at Fulham. He's a lucky man to get a pay off.

Reading want Denis Bergkamp so GB will have to wait.

[mustard]

I get an overwhelming stench of arrogance from Bowyer's comments. I fear the man suffers from delusions of grandeur. So are many in this industry I guess but I'm glad we now have a manager who can back it up at least.

I think Reading (or any other Championship club with aspirations beyond mid table) would be erroneous in making an appointment of Bowyer's ilk. Never going to bring out the best in the team and lacking that fight and drive to push above and beyond. Bowyer has 'Rotherham' or a team of that calibre written all over him.

[BlueMonday]

I get an overwhelming stench of arrogance from Bowyer's comments. I fear the man suffers from delusions of grandeur. So are many in this industry I guess but I'm glad we now have a manager who can back it up at least.

I think Reading (or any other Championship club with aspirations beyond mid table) would be erroneous in making an appointment of Bowyer's ilk. Never going to bring out the best in the team and lacking that fight and drive to push above and beyond. Bowyer has 'Rotherham' or a team of that calibre written all over him.

The problem is, there's a derth of managers with any pedigree available. The Championship is a rock and a hard place. You can get, Up and coming managers wanting to enhance their reputations. Failed Prem managers wanting to rebuild their reps. Foreign managers wanting to build a British reputation, or the Steve Keans who have Agents manufacturing their careers at the expense of Clubs.

Rovers for once have been ahead of the game in getting Lambo, and laying out a plan for him. IMO they've sold him on being out of embargo and having money to spend. That's made us the best pick out of the current clubs.

FECK ME, THERE'S A PLAN!

[DE.]

Incredible that Bolton have only won one match all season but are just four points away from getting out of the relegation zone. Conversely we've only won five out of nineteen and are five points off sixth. Not sure what that says about the Championship really.

[bob fleming]

_{Great appointment by QPR. I would have been happy if he had been Rovers' choice.}

_{All in all, Lambert's appointment looks smarter and smarter by the day. Onwards and upwards.}

_{Bloody hell Mercer, you wanted wee Dougie and Coyley a few months ago. JFH and QPR must both be worried now! (What happened to Armageddon by the way and things "escalating"?)}

_{As for Lambert. I've not been this optimistic for years. The fact he saw fit to bring in Irvine and Kelly and was allowed to do so, well. Somethings changed somewhere.}

_{Which leads me to my next parathingy.}

_{Bowyer this Bowyer that. After, let's call it Kean's mess, it was always going to be a few years for us to get back on track. Let's not doubt that for a minute.}

_{A complete and utter mess. Long term contracts signed off for fun. Not in our clubs best interests anyway. So, eventually we get our house in order. Bowyer steadied the ship, did his best, but was never ever the man to take us forward.}

_{Thanks to the ridiculous nature of FFP (where BWFC can run up 170m of debt yet have no embargo, where QPR can get promoted, be hit with a 50m fine, get relegated, still not pay - and are still allowed back in the Football League?!?) it was always going to be this way when you have some country and western fighting our corner. Eventually, we get our house in order.}

_{From the outside looking in, and making even more assumptions (who'd have thought that on the black and white messageboard that is BRFCC!) the guy who came over, the ex Indian FA guy, needs a massive pat on the back. Or he's just a front for some good old fashioned Lancastrian common sense from unknown fans.}

_{But - Bowyer should be thanked imv. Those years in between were thankless, joyless. Was FFP relaxed enough recently to allow the V's to reinvest? Were we handcuffed in the meantime? Perhaps as a result of previous "misdemeanours"? Who would come here under an embargo - which top manager would've fancied this gig?}

_{So thanks Gaz, I wish you all the best. You bought us time when probably no one would touch us with a barge pole. You tried your best and brought us some dignity. A fine bloke.}

_{But now we go again.}

_{(Possibly in the wrong thread, feel free to shift it please chaps!)}

[DE.]

Well, the Bowyer thread was locked for the hundredth time so you might as well put it here...

GB does deserve plenty of respect for righting the ship when we were really going under. His first full season in charge was fine. We fell a little short but it was a massive improvement on the season before it. From memory we only barely missed out on the playoffs, possibly on GD? No mean feat all things considered.

Unfortunately, the second season wasn't so great. We still had a decent team and had the added goal threat of Gestede, but for some reason we went backwards. The embargo only came into force half way through that season and Bowyer did not have to sell anybody that January, so it can't really be used as an excuse for poor performance. We had a good cup run but that ultimately didn't mean a whole lot, and we finished well off the playoffs despite a 40+ goal strike force, one of the best assist makers in the league in Conway and a team that was not fished out of the bargain bin, though history has been somewhat revised recently to paint it that way. We paid for Steele, we paid for Duffy, we paid for Conway, Evans and Cairney, we paid for Marshall. It may not have been a massive outlay but much more than the likes of Ipswich, who did get into the playoffs that season. More than Bournemouth too, I think, who obviously got promoted.

Obviously this season was a total mess up until the removal of GB. The embargo was used as an excuse but in reality Gestede was the only casualty of that in terms of sales, we were told that Cairney was not a forced sale. Apparently we just wanted to get rid of him. Of course we couldn't bring in anybody for a fee, but we still had Steele, Hanley, Duffy, Olsson, Evans, Conway, Marshall, Rhodes and later the likes of Akpan and Guthrie. Not a bad team all things considered. Certainly not a team who should have been expected to win three games out of the first seventeen.

From my perspective, Bowyer had a good first season and certainly deserved thanks for that. Second season was a disappointment and was over by February, we also showed no initiative to avoid the embargo although it's fair to argue that was not necessarily's Bowyer's problem to address. Third season an absolute disaster and we were kind of back where we were when Bowyer joined, albeit with less players on stupidly long, expensive contracts, but more debt and a weaker squad with a poor mentality and lack of match fitness which can only be attributed to Bowyer. You also had the strange jabs at the fans which were not particularly professional, and the post match comments were just out of control in terms of ridiculousness. These comments get highlighted more when the team is losing, sure, but that's kind of the point.

Anyway, this ramble is ultimately just me saying I'm grateful for the first season and certainly Bowyer dealing with the fallout of the Kean era, but less so for the other one and a bit seasons which were mostly disappointment and slow decline. I wish GB the best for the future and hope he finds some success elsewhere as he seems like an honest, hard working bloke, but I'm glad he's moved on because the situation was turning toxic again and the last thing anybody wanted to see was the fans turning on Bowyer en masse. That would have been really sad.

[Blue blood]

Incredible that Bolton have only won one match all season but are just four points away from getting out of the relegation zone. Conversely we've only won five out of nineteen and are five points off sixth. Not sure what that says about the Championship really.

That the championship is a much of a muchness. Anyone can beat anyone and inconsistency is king in this division.

[chaddyrovers]

Bowyer linked with Sheff Utd

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/6786218/The-Boss-of-goss-David-Moyes-cool-over-return-to-Premier-League-management.html

[deryck guyler's spoon]

Bowyer linked with Sheff Utd

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/6786218/The-Boss-of-goss-David-Moyes-cool-over-return-to-Premier-League-management.html

Big club, big expectations, big job. I reckon he'd be better off somewhere like Walsall.

[chaddyrovers]

Big club, big expectations, big job. I reckon he'd be better off somewhere like Walsall.

Maybe thats what he needs as manager

[Pedro]

Bowyer linked with Sheff Utd

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/6786218/The-Boss-of-goss-David-Moyes-cool-over-return-to-Premier-League-management.html

I think a job like that would be ideal for him.

[deryck guyler's spoon]

Bowyer linked with Sheff Utd

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/6786218/The-Boss-of-goss-David-Moyes-cool-over-return-to-Premier-League-management.html

Some interesting titbits about Bridcutt, a couple of Stanley lads and Malky McKay in that article.

[philipl]

Brighton's comeback against Charlton shows that they are the real deal for promotion this season.

[Gav]

Joe Garner, arms aloft, in front of the home fans after Prestons second yesterday in the land that time forgot.

I wanted to kill the sw1ne a few weeks back, I think half of burnley now feel the same

[AllRoverAsia]

Bowyer linked with Sheff Utd

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/6786218/The-Boss-of-goss-David-Moyes-cool-over-return-to-Premier-League-management.html

I have always liked Sheffield United for some reason, probably Tony Curries hair, so would not wish Bowyer on them.

From that article I do wish Moyes on Toon and Toon on Moyes.

[DE.]

Brighton's comeback against Charlton shows that they are the real deal for promotion this season.

It'll be interesting to see if they can keep up their incredible form from this first half of the season. In theory they are still only a few losses/draws away from being pulled back into the playoff places, though at this point I can't see them finishing outside the top six.

[roverandout]

Big club, big expectations, big job. I reckon he'd be better off somewhere like Walsall.

Agree with all of it apart from big club, not really a big club, sheff Wed are though

Bowyer linked with Sheff Utd

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/6786218/The-Boss-of-goss-David-Moyes-cool-over-return-to-Premier-League-management.html

From that article it says malky Mackay Is training temporarily with Lambert, surely we can get him a job on the backroom staff at rovers?

[Newera]

Agree with all of it apart from big club, not really a big club, sheff Wed are though

From that article it says malky Mackay Is training temporarily with Lambert, surely we can get him a job on the backroom staff at rovers?

People wanted col Henry out cos of his questionable character, but want malky Mackay now?

[tomphil]

I really hope Bowyer goes to Sheff Utd and bores them to tears, can't stand that lot after seeing some of their fans antics up close down the years. One of the most boorish and yobbish sets around so I hope they stay where they are and he's just the man for that but he wouldn't last 5 mins there, they are quite passionate and demanding. Too big for that division for sure but overall a bog standard sized city club with over inflated expectations.