Championship 2018-19

[JHRover]

46 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

The state of Ewood is something that really annoys me. We have discussed at the length the total lack of initiatives when it comes to fan experience.

However, at a more basic level the place looks like it hasn't had a deep clean or a lick of paint for a decade plus, yet is that solely the fault of the owners? 

I think I've said before that I used to use the gym built into PNEs away end and it always struck me how there were always people jet washing the stands, painting and generally sprucing the place up. Does Trevor Hemmings insist on this? Does he put more cash in than Venky's? i would say probably not on the first and definitely not on the second, yet they still seem to have maintained a professional pride at the club that we have lost.

This can come down to constantly changing execs on the ground - and that comes back to the owners again ultimately.

I've been going on about this for a while, but when was the last time Ewood saw any INVESTMENT?

I'm not talking about cleaners, the groundsman or someone going round with a brush sweeping up litter (though that gets missed by the looks of things). I'm talking about above and beyond bare minimum essential maintenance. Trying to make the place better than it is.

The pitch in pre-Venky days was one of the best in the Premier League. From what I hear we've now got one of the smallest budgets around for the pitch and to be honest it shows. Other Championship clubs have spent big installing Desso pitches etc. Accrington Stanley have just announced they'll be spending £300,000 this summer on their pitch to replace it. I bet Rovers won't spend that on Ewood PLUS Brockhall.

Ultimately you need people on the ground on a daily basis who have the pride and determination to make the place better, as well as the authority to get it done. Seems any non-essential expenditure ends up falling by the wayside in India and nothing gets done.

The place looks tatty and a mess

[DE.]

McLeish vacates the Scotland post... I wonder if Lambert will use this as an excuse to get out of Ipswich? 

[Mattyblue]

‘So why did you finish bottom of the group, Paul?’

’Great country this. Lot went on before I came here. The SFA needs a wee bit of help’

[SBlue]

Just now, Mattyblue said:

‘So why did you finish bottom of the group, Paul?’

’Great country this. Lot went on before I came here. The SFA needs a wee bit of help’

You forgot to mention Dortmund.

[DE.]

I can't imagine Scotland would be interested in him anyway tbh. His recent managerial record doesn't exactly read well, and with the likes of Moyes available you'd think Lambert would be well down the list of potential candidates. 

[Mattyblue]

You reckon? I think it’s 100% an SFA type of appointment.

I mean McLeish!

Edited April 18, 2019 by Mattyblue

[DE.]

Just now, Mattyblue said:

You reckon? I think it’s 100% an SFA type of appointment.

I mean McLeish!

Yeah, but they'd have to pay money to get Lambert out of his contract for a start. Then explain bringing in a manager who has relegated two clubs in his last two jobs. Even for the SFA that's a stretch imo. Much more likely to be Strachan or Moyes. Free and relatively safe appointments. 

[Mattyblue]

‘Paul has recently been observing Brazil’s training sessions’

SFA’s press release, sorted!

[Stuart]

Scotland needs a shake up. They don’t even produce top drawer players any more. The English top teams used to be built on the backs of hard-as-nails Scotsmen.

A Gareth Southgate style revolution. If any national manager should be given time, it’s a young Scottish one. Trouble is they don’t seem to have any decent up and coming managers. Alex Neill - but he has just signed a new deal. Maybe he could do it part time like Hughes did with Wales.

I can think of one man who would make them a lot harder to beat and might want it for personal reasons...

 

Edited April 18, 2019 by Stuart

[JHRover]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2019/04/18/special-report-secrets-behind-norwich-success-story/?WT.mc_id=tmg_share_tw

Interesting read into Norwich's successful season and how they've managed to get promoted whilst selling off players. Don't like the way Farke has them behaving but hard not to be impressed at the recruitment operation they have in place. Compare and contrast.

[Bigdoggsteel]

1 hour ago, JHRover said:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2019/04/18/special-report-secrets-behind-norwich-success-story/?WT.mc_id=tmg_share_tw

Interesting read into Norwich's successful season and how they've managed to get promoted whilst selling off players. Don't like the way Farke has them behaving but hard not to be impressed at the recruitment operation they have in place. Compare and contrast.

14th last season though...

 

What do you mean by the way he has them behaving? 

[perthblue02]

6 hours ago, Stuart said:

Scotland needs a shake up.

Scottish born, started his career at one of scotlands biggest clubs, played abroad, Managed in the Premier League , won at old Trafford during Fergies reign, International management experience, managed club side abroad, in demand as a player recruiter by foreign sides, wee gem and likes a drink , works long hours. Speaks four languages (English, Scottish, Portuguese and Bollocks)

As an Englishman, sounds ideal to me for the Scotland job

Just saying

Edited April 18, 2019 by perthblue02

[Stuart]

Just now, perthblue02 said:

Scottish born, started his career at one of scotlands biggest clubs, played abroad, Managed in the Premier League , won at old Trafford during Fergies reign, International management experience, managed club side abroad, in demand as a player recruiter by foreign sides, wee gem and likes a drink , works long hours.

Has an Englishman, sounds ideal to me for the Scotland job

Just saying

Is he a very nice man and doesn’t even have a dog?

Could you imagine?

[perthblue02]

Just now, Stuart said:

Is he a very nice man and doesn’t even have a dog?

Could you imagine?

Not only imagining but crossing everything in the hope it happens

[DeeCee]

6 hours ago, Stuart said:

Scotland needs a shake up. They don’t even produce top drawer players any more. The English top teams used to be built on the backs of hard-as-nails Scotsmen.

A Gareth Southgate style revolution. If any national manager should be given time, it’s a young Scottish one. Trouble is they don’t seem to have any decent up and coming managers. Alex Neill - but he has just signed a new deal. Maybe he could do it part time like Hughes did with Wales.

I can think of one man who would make them a lot harder to beat and might want it for personal reasons...

 

Even more beneath him than coming back here.

[jodrell]

49 minutes ago, perthblue02 said:

Scottish born, started his career at one of scotlands biggest clubs, played abroad, Managed in the Premier League , won at old Trafford during Fergies reign, International management experience, managed club side abroad, in demand as a player recruiter by foreign sides, wee gem and likes a drink , works long hours. Speaks four languages (English, Scottish, Portuguese and Bollocks)

As an Englishman, sounds ideal to me for the Scotland job

Just saying

does he get lots of fan mail and keeps the postman busy

[Blue blood]

No way will Scotland go for any appointment which will upset the public after the muck up with McLeish. 

His record was utterly duff and he's only managed to get it lowered further, can't see him getting another job anytime soon. 

Lambert amazes me that he still manages to pull off jobs or get fans to like him when he does a sub par job - Ipswich haven't improved at all since he joined. That said I still look back and think he did a decent job with us, which shows he's pretty good at the PR if nothing else. Having said that he's really nose dived since leaving us, and I doubt he'll be getting another job away from Ipswich given his run of clear failures since us. 

[Scotland1]

22 hours ago, DE. said:

Venky's have been and continue to be a virus that has made this club extremely ill.

I've said this before, but it's like thanking somebody for giving you a bandage after repeatedly stabbing you in the chest. Thanks, but I'm still dying and it's your fault.

It’s like saying thanks for the dose I can’t get rid off, as long as I don’t enjoy myself to much I might get 10 years of what a happish mediocre form of life what it was like before I die.

i get what your saying but we are where we are and well look at football these days, in venkys tenure it’s common there is far more of an issue of these foreign owners and who can afford a club. No wonder clubs stomped there feet on the tv deal we are the 6th most competitive league? Paid buttons! The gulf in that alone to the PL creates the wage rise and that’s why more and more owners are handing over to those with cash. They can’t afford it, it’s itv digitalagain

Leeds - Sold twice? No assets.

Derby - Sold twice? Now don’t own ground.

Villa - Sold twice about to be hit with FFP

Mboro - About to be FFP mortgaged all monies Gibson not sure anymore. 

Bolton - wow

wigan - on verge of being on the market again 

Reading - Sold to a guy who failed a f&p test for hull now struggling.

PNE - owe TRev 73 million and counting and they’re one of he best ran.

Forest - Al Fawaz and a dodgy suspected shipping owner with curios links. 

Swansea - assets striped the club now flogging it as a balance sheet item as pure and simple as a hedge fund owner. 

 

We are were we are but i hate our owners but same time il respect them keeping Ewood staff employed and paid on time. We’ve swapped banks overdrafts and all sorts in7 years and never missed a pay check to staff. Might be terrible owners but they’re ours. Without sounding Stockholm home like id love nothing more than To go up with them next year and see them at Wembley. Collect most your cash, thanks for paying the bills and sell us on to a decent owner.

Time they came to Ewood anyways for there baby 

Edited April 18, 2019 by Scotland1

[JHRover]

5 hours ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

14th last season though...

 

What do you mean by the way he has them behaving? 

Diving, surrounding the referee, trying to get opponents booked/sent off. Manager bombarding the 4th official. 

No coincidence IMO that they seem to have 5 minutes+ injury time every week at home and have ended up winning loads of games during that time. 

Can't argue with their results this season and i have some envy of the way they've recruited but I don't like him and their approach. Suspect we'll see more of it in a few weeks especially if the game isn't going how they want.

[DE.]

Just now, Blue blood said:

That said I still look back and think he did a decent job with us, which shows he's pretty good at the PR if nothing else. 

Overall Lambert had a possible 87 points to gain with us. He managed 38. Comparatively in the last 87 available to Mowbray he's taken 35. So I don't think Lambert did as bad of a job with Rovers as people make out, especially considering he was parachuted in mid-season whilst Mowbray has been here nearly two and a half years. Granted this season we have just come up from L1, but I wouldn't say we have a significantly weaker squad than the one Lambert was working with. In fact it's probably slightly better.

Lambert's career has certainly gone on a dive since leaving us though. He did OK with Wolves but then took two doomed posts at Stoke and Ipswich which have, imo, done some major damage to his stock. 

[DE.]

Just now, Scotland1 said:

It’s like saying thanks for the dose I can’t get rid off, as long as I don’t enjoy myself to much I might get 10 years of what a happish mediocre form of life what it was like before I die.

i get what your saying but we are where we are and well look at football these days, in venkys tenure it’s common there is far more of an issue of these foreign owners;

Leeds - Sold twice? No assets.

Derby - Sold twice? Now don’t own ground.

Villa - Sold twice about to be hit with FFP

Mboro - About to be FFP mortgaged all monies Gibson not sure anymore. 

Bolton - wow

wigan - on verge of being on the market again 

Reading - Sold to a guy who failed a f&p test for hull now struggling.

PNE - owe TRev 73 million and counting and they’re one of he best ran.

Forest - Al Fawaz and a dodgy suspected shipping owner with curios links. 

Swansea - assets striped the club now flogging it as a balance sheet item as pure and simple as a hedge fund owner. 

 

We we are were we are but i hate our owners but same time il respect them keeping Ewood staff employed and paid on time. We’ve swapped banks overdrafts and all sorts in7 years and never missed a pay check to staff. Might be terrible owners but they’re ours. Without sounding Stockholm home like id love nothing more than To go up with them next year and see them at Wembley. Collect most your cash, thanks for paying the bills and sell us on to a decent owner.

Time they came to Ewood anyways for there baby 

When Venky's first rocked up their utter destruction of our club was and I think in some ways still is unique. With that said you're right that there are a ton of dodgy foreign owners around nowadays who are doing just as much if not more damage to other clubs. You can add Ipswich into that who owe Marcus Evans £95m and are heading to L1 on the back of one of their worst ever seasons.

In regards to keeping the current staff employed, sure, but how many lost their jobs due to Venky's absolute negligence bombing us out of the PL and then doing the same when they cost us our Championship status with the hiring of Coyle? Not to mention all of the businesses affected by Rovers' lower fanbase and general match day activity. These victims tend to be forgotten about these days and I'd wager there are plenty of them. Of course you always run the risk of seeing this happen if your business heavily relies on a football club being in a certain division, but when that club is dismantled so thoughtlessly in the way ours has been the owners must take some of the blame for that too. 

Also in 15-16 we were for some reason relying on emergency loans which still makes me uneasy. Why did this happen and what guarantee is there that it couldn't happen again? The last couple of years have been relatively smooth sailing as far as the owners and the club is concerned, but we had a period of that under Bowyer before it all came crashing down. I don't think I'll ever have confidence in Venky's, as I can't help but feel based on their past history that another disaster is just around the corner.

[Blue blood]

Just now, DE. said:

Overall Lambert had a possible 87 points to gain with us. He managed 38. Comparatively in the last 87 available to Mowbray he's taken 35. So I don't think Lambert did as bad of a job with Rovers as people make out, especially considering he was parachuted in mid-season whilst Mowbray has been here nearly two and a half years. Granted this season we have just come up from L1, but I wouldn't say we have a significantly weaker squad than the one Lambert was working with. In fact it's probably slightly better.

Lambert's career has certainly gone on a dive since leaving us though. He did OK with Wolves but then took two doomed posts at Stoke and Ipswich which have, imo, done some major damage to his stock. 

But not a great job either. Not a good job. Decent yes, but he hasn't really excelled anywhere since. 

Look at Wolves, given how a lot of teams with less investment have done, to have them plodding along in the championship wasn't anything special. A good manager would have done much better with them. Likewise how many doomed posts did Big Sam take on and succeed in? Sunderland and Palace for two. I don't think he's bad, but I don't think he is good or warrants the positive reaction he gets. 

[Scotland1]

Just now, DE. said:

Overall Lambert had a possible 87 points to gain with us. He managed 38. Comparatively in the last 87 available to Mowbray he's taken 35. So I don't think Lambert did as bad of a job with Rovers as people make out, especially considering he was parachuted in mid-season whilst Mowbray has been here nearly two and a half years. Granted this season we have just come up from L1, but I wouldn't say we have a significantly weaker squad than the one Lambert was working with. In fact it's probably slightly better.

Lambert's career has certainly gone on a dive since leaving us though. He did OK with Wolves but then took two doomed posts at Stoke and Ipswich which have, imo, done some major damage to his stock. 

I happen to think Lambert is a decent manager in all honesty. His issue with going for any job though is to his detriment and why imo he attracts critique so often. if he’d have hung out longer after wolves or even stoke he could have walked into a Forest type role this year. 

That said since Hughes and BFS I’ve never seen a team fitter, I’ve also never seen a progress in namely Hanley so quickly. His football was dour but organised. He seemed to coins respect from odd splits of the squad I.e Marshall.

On his flaws and it grated me I felt Lambert had an ego issue he was bigger than anything, too stubborn with his subs to change a game (pne) and his PR to deflect a defeat or attention away from him calling out venkys (hooray) was for his own sake. 

He did ok here but I expected way better , I’d rather have Mowbray 

[DE.]

Just now, Blue blood said:

But not a great job either. Not a good job. Decent yes, but he hasn't really excelled anywhere since. 

Look at Wolves, given how a lot of teams with less investment have done, to have them plodding along in the championship wasn't anything special. A good manager would have done much better with them. Likewise how many doomed posts did Big Sam take on and succeed in? Sunderland and Palace for two. I don't think he's bad, but I don't think he is good or warrants the positive reaction he gets. 

Oh I agree completely, he's neither a very bad or very good manager, just somewhere in the middle depending on circumstances. I just see a lot of people rip into his tenure here like he was another Coyle, which he clearly wasn't. He took a poor team and made them average. I'm still not sure why he gets such ire on here in all honesty. Because he decided he didn't want to work with Venky's? Can't really blame him for that! The positive reaction from the Ipswich fans towards him is pretty baffling and amusing though. He hasn't achieved anything there but a few nice words and it's all good. Maybe if Mick had sucked up to them a little more he'd still be in a job too. That said it's hard to praise fans who chant that you're a paedophile.

Allardyce is a far better manager than Lambert so I agree with you on that, but as far as Wolves are concerned, much like us he wasn't really there long enough to get going and this time was pretty much forced out rather than walking. I think it's really hard to seriously judge his tenure with us or Wolves based on such a short time span. He did OK but we never saw how he would have developed either club long term. My guess is it would have been more of the same, mid-table to lower mid-table finishes with fairly poor football on display, but that's more or less what we get now too. It feels like he gets a hard time on here for what was a very brief stay with average results. 

[DE.]

Just now, Scotland1 said:

I happen to think Lambert is a decent manager in all honesty. His issue with going for any job though is to his detriment and why imo he attracts critique so often. if he’d have hung out longer after wolves or even stoke he could have walked into a Forest type role this year. 

That said since Hughes and BFS I’ve never seen a team fitter, I’ve also never seen a progress in namely Hanley so quickly. His football was dour but organised. He seemed to coins respect from odd splits of the squad I.e Marshall.

On his flaws and it grated me I felt Lambert had an ego issue he was bigger than anything, too stubborn with his subs to change a game (pne) and his PR to deflect a defeat or attention away from him calling out venkys (hooray) was for his own sake. 

He did ok here but I expected way better , I’d rather have Mowbray 

Lambert definitely has an ego, but then most managers do so I'm not necessarily going to hold that against him. Based on his post-Rovers career I wouldn't want him here in place of Mowbray... ideally I'd want better than both! Unlikely with the current ownership though. I think the likes of Mowbray and Lambert are the best we can hope for.