[Archived] Alan Irvine Departs

[Amo]

Good luck to him. An opportunity has come along and he's taken it. Maybe the original proviso WAS for the manager to work alongside Irvine & Kelly, but things change. What's important is that the club backs the guy in charge.

[deryck guyler's spoon]

Depends what you call a daft conspiracy theory. Don't get me wrong, some are a little farfetched but when there is tangible evidence that contradicts a number of the messages previously put out from the club, then it's no wonder people ask questions.

And I don't want to know what you and Rolf have got up to, cheers.

I'm glad that you, as a a confirmed wearer of the Tin foil hat, acknowledge the sadness of some of the conspiracy theories on here.

However, as you seem to believe that Rolf Harris, who grew up 1000's of kms from where I live decades before I moved here and has lived most of his life in the UK has 'got up' to 'something' with me then your epithany may not be complete.

Never mind, judging by the Pms I've had on here, you aren't the only numbnuts

[oldjamfan1]

The official Rovers' Twitter account replied to somebody asking and said the reason it is yet to be announced is because contracts still haven't been signed. Therefore it must be genuine if they've gone to the effort of replying to a fan on the subject.

Sandy Stewart is certainly coming to Ewood, I think that has been on the cards whether Irvine went or not, but that wasn't what my post was about - it was about the car park sign, the timing of it, who who had posted it on FB and the likelihood of it being some sort of photoshopped thing.

[Jock]

I don't believe Irvine wanted to leave. His home is in Crosby. Probably told that he's surplus by the Scumbags so he'll have been job hunting.

Hope it works out well for him.

[tomphil]

Because Stewart was already lined up here with his preferred boss

Right from the off probably and being the top pro he his he was happy to stay on until his contract expired and oversee things whilst helping the club ease his pal through the door.

No reason why Rob Kelly couldn't be kept though seeing as they made great fuss about getting him back. Wonder who's ear marked for his role or is it being filed under cost cutting now.

[Parsonblue]

So Irvine got a job offer which he preferred to the one he had at Ewood. Good luck to him. Norwich offers him a better chance of promotion with the parachute payments and Norwich is a nice part of the world in which to live. Sandy Stewart was clearly the obvious choice to replace him and would no doubt have come in on the coaching staff even had Irvine stayed. Seems to me a normal move that happens all the time in football.

[BlueMonday]

So Irvine got a job offer which he preferred to the one he had at Ewood. Good luck to him. Norwich offers him a better chance of promotion with the parachute payments and Norwich is a nice part of the world in which to live. Sandy Stewart was clearly the obvious choice to replace him and would no doubt have come in on the coaching staff even had Irvine stayed. Seems to me a normal move that happens all the time in football.

Cant disagree with that PB, but given OC & SS's track record it doesn't really strengthen us. Add to that a thread bare squad and things are definitely NOT looking up

But here's hoping.

[Stuart]

So Irvine got a job offer which he preferred to the one he had at Ewood. Good luck to him. Norwich offers him a better chance of promotion with the parachute payments and Norwich is a nice part of the world in which to live. Sandy Stewart was clearly the obvious choice to replace him and would no doubt have come in on the coaching staff even had Irvine stayed. Seems to me a normal move that happens all the time in football.

On the face of it you are right but once again the fans were treated like idiots. We were told that one of the key factors in the new manager search was to work with the existing team and to work with our youth set up.

Either we are being lied to or we a a schizophrenic club where, depending which Rao answers the phone in Pune, we head off in a different direction.

I could well imagine:

[Desai answers phone]: "No, there is no money for anything - ok then you can take some money out of petty cash to get a Sandy Shaw reserved parking sign"

[barry answers phone]: "You need £8m for another League One striker on a hunch? Suuuuure. I'm wiring the money right now on my gold iPhone Paypal Premium account"

[Venkytash answers phone]: "Taxi. No wait, sorry. Hello? No, I'm confused. What? Yes, I'll put her on".

[Parsonblue]

I'm not sure why you feel you were treated like an idiot over this Stuart. I certainly don't feel that way. When Coyle was appointed the vacancy at Norwich didn't exist. Since Coyle arrived the job at Norwich became available and Irvine obvioulsy wanted it. Good luck to him. To fill the gap Coyle brings in someone he has worked with before - nothing new or surprising in that.

[oldjamfan1]

On the face of it you are right but once again the fans were treated like idiots. We were told that one of the key factors in the new manager search was to work with the existing team and to work with our youth set up.

Either we are being lied to or we a a schizophrenic club where, depending which Rao answers the phone in Pune, we head off in a different direction.

I could well imagine:

[Desai answers phone]: "No, there is no money for anything - ok then you can take some money out of petty cash to get a Sandy Shaw reserved parking sign"

[barry answers phone]: "You need £8m for another League One striker on a hunch? Suuuuure. I'm wiring the money right now on my gold iPhone Paypal Premium account"

[Venkytash answers phone]: "Taxi. No wait, sorry. Hello? No, I'm confused. What? Yes, I'll put her on".

I have to say I'm with PB on this one Stuart. I don't really think this is either an unusual occurence or a case of lying to the fans. However, I do think its a sad indictment on the current state of the club that Alan Irvine would rather work at Norwich. His own father told me in 2003 that Alan thought the Rovers was the best club he had ever been involved with. How times change!

[Stuart]

I'm not sure why you feel you were treated like an idiot over this Stuart. I certainly don't feel that way. When Coyle was appointed the vacancy at Norwich didn't exist. Since Coyle arrived the job at Norwich became available and Irvine obvioulsy wanted it. Good luck to him. To fill the gap Coyle brings in someone he has worked with before - nothing new or surprising in that.

We were told that Coyle was the best candidate for the job after a recruitment process which cited working with the current staff and the youth set-up.

The best candidate against those criteria has done the exact opposite - and we all knew that he would. It is clear that the criteria was not applied to Coyle, meaning a different, secret, selection process was used to recruit him. But you just shrug and assume that it's Irvine's personal decision to leave that is the only reason Coyle's own man will be appointed. I'd go so far as to say that your view on this one is insulting the intelligence.

Some folk are so quick to try to say that all is well, normal club, business as usual, 'nothing to see here', 'that sign is fake', 'their families are friends so it makes sense', that they will excuse and dismiss all that has happened - even the very recent - and ignore the bigger picture of the absolutely dysfunctional way that our cub is continuing to be run. There isn't a modicum of honesty coming out of the club - and hasn't been for years - yet all is well in some eyes.

I guess as only the most hardcore fans are left, I will have to accept more and more that people around the place are more than happy to feed on the bullshit. If only there were 20,000 more such, yes, I'll say it, Rovers Fans then the club wouldn't need to bother at all what they did or said. I swear, if they moved Jack's statue to the back of the Riverside, some would just shrug and say, "well, he's had his day. Just being reminded about the good old days is stopping us moving on".

I've no problem with people putting aside the issues to get behind the team on a matchday but making excuses on a fan site is pitiful.

[Blueandwhitemike]

It comes down to trust for me... We (well a good number if not all) have NO trust in the club so we look on things with a negative eye. Would Irvine, with his connections and feelings for the club, want to take a lesser role at a club in the same division (though with more money and prospects but far from certainties for promotion) which also would entail having to move to a different part of the country (although football people are probably used to it, doesn't mean it's not still a hassle) if he had a safe (reasonably) job here?

I don't think it is as cut and dried as you think Parsonblue, but like so many things at Rovers we will probably never know.

It's still a big loss, in my opinion, to lose a respected coach that also seems to genuinely care for the club. Also his replacement... It surely would be better for him to find someone different (though managers don't often do that, but 3 failures in a row might persuade some to make a change).

[chaddyrovers]

They should have pulled out all the stops to keep Irvine, for him to be going to Norwich when he's from round here tells us that they probably didn't even try.

As I said the other day, no conspiracy here, but the clubs worse of without him.

I think Coyle tried but sadly Irvine seen Norwich has a better club at this stage and a better chance of getting promotion and playing in the Premier League season after

So Irvine got a job offer which he preferred to the one he had at Ewood. Good luck to him. Norwich offers him a better chance of promotion with the parachute payments and Norwich is a nice part of the world in which to live. Sandy Stewart was clearly the obvious choice to replace him and would no doubt have come in on the coaching staff even had Irvine stayed. Seems to me a normal move that happens all the time in football.

That's the way I see it aswell.

Stewart is the obvious choice for Coyle number 2. wouldn't be my choice tho

On the face of it you are right but once again the fans were treated like idiots. We were told that one of the key factors in the new manager search was to work with the existing team and to work with our youth set up.

Either we are being lied to or we a a schizophrenic club where, depending which Rao answers the phone in Pune, we head off in a different direction.

Irvine and Kelly were still here and lets not forget that Coyle and Irvine are good friends but Irvine has made a personal choice for him and for his career.

I hope we keep Kelly at the club

[Blueandwhitemike]

Also DGS, some conspiracy theories may be daft but definitely not all, do you not agree that there is generally reason to be suspicious about the club?

And Chaddy, you have no more reason to believe that than the way Stuart describes the situation... And given the club's recent history probably much less.

[oldjamfan1]

A member of my family is speculating that one of Irvine's brood is at Cambridge University.

[Roverthechimp]

I Think it is pretty bloody obvious that Coyle and Irvine realized that they couldn't work together and frankly there is only ever 1 solution in that position (see Giggs).

[Stuart]

Always a reasonable explanation. We are just the unluckiest club in the world.

Poor old wee Coyley let down by the selfish Irvine who's going to have to turn to Sandy Stewart to try to fill the void. Poor old hard done to Bowyery, Keany, Bergy, Appletony.

But that Lambert was a @#/? who 'didn't pull up any trees' that we are 'better off without'.

[patrickvalery]

Always a reasonable explanation. We are just the unluckiest club in the world.

Poor old wee Coyley let down by the selfish Irvine who's going to have to turn to Sandy Stewart to try to fill the void. Poor old hard done to Bowyery, Keany, Bergy, Appletony.

But that Lambert was a @#/? who 'didn't pull up any trees' that we are 'better off without'.

Deary me Stuart. You do seem to have been a tad dramatic there. I can think of one poster who was glad to be shut of Lambert. Most were despondent to say the very least.

The trouble with rovers is they have lied and betrayed the fans so much and to such lengths (or depths) that normal occurrences like this get tarred with the same brush. Yes we're a shower but it doesn't mean that every time anything vaguely bad happens it's dirty tactics. That's not happy clapping. Coyle getting appointed and saying he's never heard of SEM stinks to high heaven. Irvine leaving just doesn't. As disappointing as it is.

[Stuart]

Deary me Stuart. You do seem to have been a tad dramatic there. I can think of one poster who was glad to be shut of Lambert. Most were despondent to say the very least.

The trouble with rovers is they have lied and betrayed the fans so much and to such lengths (or depths) that normal occurrences like this get tarred with the same brush. Yes we're a shower but it doesn't mean that every time anything vaguely bad happens it's dirty tactics. That's not happy clapping. Coyle getting appointed and saying he's never heard of SEM stinks to high heaven. Irvine leaving just doesn't. As disappointing as it is.

You're missing the point.

The club said one thing and did the opposite when we all saw it coming. I don't believe in coincidences where Rovers 2010 are concerned.

[patrickvalery]

You're missing the point.

The club said one thing and did the opposite when we all saw it coming. I don't believe in coincidences where Rovers 2010 are concerned.

No Stuart I'm not missing the point. I'm just not buying your point. The fact Irvine is already in work would suggest he may have wanted out. Now I'm not saying that's the case 110%. I don't know. But not every thing that happens at the club is crooked. Just most of it.

[bob fleming]

You're missing the point.

The club said one thing and did the opposite when we all saw it coming. I don't believe in coincidences where Rovers 2010 are concerned.

Fair enough. It's entirely plausible what you suggest Stuart. It's also plausible that Norwich came calling - they are the bigger club after all, what with the parachute payments and their 30,000 "Rovers Fans" - easily 3 times more than us.

[Parsonblue]

We were told that Coyle was the best candidate for the job after a recruitment process which cited working with the current staff and the youth set-up.

The best candidate against those criteria has done the exact opposite - and we all knew that he would. It is clear that the criteria was not applied to Coyle, meaning a different, secret, selection process was used to recruit him. But you just shrug and assume that it's Irvine's personal decision to leave that is the only reason Coyle's own man will be appointed. I'd go so far as to say that your view on this one is insulting the intelligence.

Some folk are so quick to try to say that all is well, normal club, business as usual, 'nothing to see here', 'that sign is fake', 'their families are friends so it makes sense', that they will excuse and dismiss all that has happened - even the very recent - and ignore the bigger picture of the absolutely dysfunctional way that our cub is continuing to be run. There isn't a modicum of honesty coming out of the club - and hasn't been for years - yet all is well in some eyes.

I guess as only the most hardcore fans are left, I will have to accept more and more that people around the place are more than happy to feed on the bullshit. If only there were 20,000 more such, yes, I'll say it, Rovers Fans then the club wouldn't need to bother at all what they did or said. I swear, if they moved Jack's statue to the back of the Riverside, some would just shrug and say, "well, he's had his day. Just being reminded about the good old days is stopping us moving on".

I've no problem with people putting aside the issues to get behind the team on a matchday but making excuses on a fan site is pitiful.

You need to get out more Stuart. You see conspiracy everywhere. Sometimes the obvious reason is the right one - Norwich came calling and offered Irvine a job which was too good to turn down. Personally, I'm more than pleased to be called a Rovers Fan rather than a tin-foil wearing conspiracy theorist. Life's too short to see conspiracy around every corner.

[Stuart]

You need to get out more Stuart. You see conspiracy everywhere. Sometimes the obvious reason is the right one - Norwich came calling and offered Irvine a job which was too good to turn down. Personally, I'm more than pleased to be called a Rovers Fan rather than a tin-foil wearing conspiracy theorist. Life's too short to see conspiracy around every corner.

Calling it a conspiracy theory is just lazy, and 'tin foil hat' is a dismissive put-down to help you ignore the circumstances.

Just to be clear then, you didn't/don't expect Irvine to be replaced by Stewart from the moment Coyle was appointed? You really are that obtuse? Ok then.

And I 'get out' plenty you arrogant oaf.

[47er]

You're missing the point.

The club said one thing and did the opposite when we all saw it coming. I don't believe in coincidences where Rovers 2010 are concerned.

Does it for me.

[ABBEY]

You need to get out more Stuart. You see conspiracy everywhere. Sometimes the obvious reason is the right one - Norwich came calling and offered Irvine a job which was too good to turn down. Personally, I'm more than pleased to be called a Rovers Fan rather than a tin-foil wearing conspiracy theorist. Life's too short to see conspiracy around every corner.

You are starting to sound like spark . So are you saying the slumdogs are model owners and a pillar of society & there's nothing dodgy gone on over the past 6 years or however long these tossers have been killing us .

Tin foilers is the new evil tremblers