Bradley Dack and Danny Graham interview

[Prelude]

https://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/11998654/at-home-with-blackburn

[Guest]

Thanks for posting, hadn't seen this anywhere else!

[Leonard Venkhater]

Thanks for posting. Enjoyed it. Both seem, who have their heads screwed on. But

I can't see DG getting another deal...(unless it is strictly appearance-based...)

[windymiller7]

Thanks for the post, good listen.

Why has the Sky Sports guy not even got a bulb in the light behind him, never mind a shade or anything! ?

[Sparks Rover]

DG all over Twitter about a new contract that he would sign in a shot....sounds like one is not forthcoming. 

[Guest]

On 03/06/2020 at 19:45, Sparks Rover said:

DG all over Twitter about a new contract that he would sign in a shot....sounds like one is not forthcoming. 

Pay as you play would be nice for him. Coaching type role in the background. I like the influence that he could have on Adam Armstrong's in the box reflexes/finishing.

[Sparks Rover]

9 minutes ago, JoeH said:

Pay as you play would be nice for him. Coaching type role in the background. I like the influence that he could have on Adam Armstrong's in the box reflexes/finishing.

Why a coach? Does he have the qualities?

[rigger]

2 minutes ago, Sparks Rover said:

Why a coach? Does he have the qualities?

As much as the ones we have got now.

[MarkBRFC]

I think it's just the standard response to anyone around 35 years old these days, give them a coaching role.

[windymiller7]

I'm sure he mentioned coaching badges in the interview

[roversfan99]

1 hour ago, JoeH said:

Pay as you play would be nice for him. Coaching type role in the background. I like the influence that he could have on Adam Armstrong's in the box reflexes/finishing.

A pay as you play wouldnt appeal at all to him surely as his game time dwindles. The concept of pay as you play cant be literal, all contracts will have to have an element of fixed salary otherwise he will have weeks and weeks where he wont receive any money.

I have to admit that he has dropped off considerably from his brilliant season when we came up, and in an ideal world he would be let go. As it is, with money a scarce resource, and with Gallagher and Brereton as alternatives, I think another year may have to happen.

I think the coaching type role is a little idealistic too, as @Sparks Rover touches on you shouldnt give coach roles out for sentimental values.

[Roving Mick]

[Guest]

19 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

I think the coaching type role is a little idealistic too, as @Sparks Rover touches on you shouldnt give coach roles out for sentimental values.

I believe we should be giving him a coaching role because he's gone and completed quite a few coaching badges and has expressed a keen interest into moving into management in his later career. Nothing sentimental about it, I believe it's a sound investment.

[Mattyblue]

How do you know it’s a sound investment? Is he a good coach? We have no idea. So what if he’s completed coaching badges, or if he wants to be a coach. The game is saturated with wannabe coaches.

Only TM will know if he looks as if he’s got what it takes to make it in a non playing leadership role.

If he feels he has, great, if he hasn’t then off you go. Appointments should always be on merit, not jobs for the boys or by sentiment.
 

 

 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Mattyblue said:

How do you know it’s a sound investment? Is he a good coach? We have no idea. So what if he’s completed coaching badges, or if he wants to be a coach. The game is saturated with wannabe coaches.

Only TM will know if he looks as if he’s got what it takes to make it in a non playing leadership role.

If he feels he has, great, if he hasn’t then off you go. Appointments should always be on merit, not jobs for the boys or by sentiment.

It's not based off of sentiment. If you complete high level coaching courses you have a very good knowledge of the game. I'd rather have a striker who's played for our club, scored hundreds of career goals coaching our lads than someone like Ben Benson who does the goalkeepers that's never played a professional game of football in his life.

My belief is that high end coaching qualifications, accompanied by a long and plentiful professional career would lead to much better coaching than some of the staff we have now.

That's not sentiment for me, I think it's sanity.

[Mattyblue]

A qualification (and he hasn’t completed them, by the way) is just that, it qualifies you for a particular role. Doesn’t mean you have the other qualities needed to perform it, that’s for the recruiting manager to assess.

He seems a popular bloke around the place, but because he has a qualification and has had a decent career as a player doesn’t mean he should be just given an important role in a non-playing leadership position 

If he’s the best man for the job, then get him in, in an ideal world we’d all prefer ‘Rovers men’ at all levels of the club, part of the reason the club feels so hollow is the lack of them on the board of directors, but if we aspire to be a top professional organisation it should always be a rigorous recruitment process, for whoever the candidate is.

Edited June 9, 2020 by Mattyblue

[rigger]

19 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

A qualification (and he hasn’t completed them, by the way) is just that, it qualifies you for a particular role. Doesn’t mean you have the other qualities needed to perform it, that’s for the recruiting manager to assess.

He seems a popular bloke around the place, but because he has a qualification and has had a decent career as a player doesn’t mean he should be just given an important role in a non-playing leadership position 

If he’s the best man for the job, then get him in, in an ideal world we’d all prefer ‘Rovers men’ at all levels of the club, part of the reason the club feels so hollow is the lack of them on the board of directors, but if we aspire to be a top professional organisation it should always be a rigorous recruitment process, for whoever the candidate is.

Or can we afford him?

[rigger]

If looking for anyone to fill any position my first needs would be: Has the candidate got the legal qualifications required ? Has the candidate got relevant experience? Then if both these are satisfied the candidate goes into the maybe pile.

[Guest]

37 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

A qualification (and he hasn’t completed them, by the way) is just that, it qualifies you for a particular role. Doesn’t mean you have the other qualities needed to perform it, that’s for the recruiting manager to assess.

He seems a popular bloke around the place, but because he has a qualification and has had a decent career as a player doesn’t mean he should be just given an important role in a non-playing leadership position 

If he’s the best man for the job, then get him in, in an ideal world we’d all prefer ‘Rovers men’ at all levels of the club, part of the reason the club feels so hollow is the lack of them on the board of directors, but if we aspire to be a top professional organisation it should always be a rigorous recruitment process, for whoever the candidate is.

I'm sorry but how much clearer can I be? It's nothing to do with sentiment. I'm not really a huge Danny Graham fan myself. It's my belief however that a player who has played a career like he has would have far more abilities in coaching young strikers than someone who's come out of University with degrees and qualifications galore but never stepped foot on a football pitch. That's not sentiment. I can't guarantee he would be a good coach, but it's a much safer bet than somebody like Ben Benson. 

It's baffling to me to be so dismissive of somebody with his kind of playing career. Players like that, from a bygone era with traits and talents no longer instilled into young strikers would have a lot to offer to the next generation at Rovers. 

I didn't claim he would be the perfect coach, but I also think its a little odd to claim that his resume isn't pretty stellar. Coaching isn't about badges its about a plethora of identifying factors, including but not limited to experience at the top level of our game. He's played League Two, League One, Championship and Premiership football, scoring for Carlisle and scoring against Jose Mourinho's Manchester United-  you don't get that kind of experience from a highly successful scholar who has qualifications but no hands on history with the pro game.

 

Graham could be a shite coach, but the probability that he's a better coach than half the staff we have throughout our club is pretty high, and for me, outside of any kind of sentiment, that's a risk worth taking.

(In-fact just based off of my viewing of Under 23's games, when Graham has played for Billy Barr's team, the teaching process you can see in-front of you is enough to tell me that he's clearly got a lot to give to the next generation. He gave young Jack Vale a bollocking for stopping his run a couple of times, could hear him from the stands. Vale went on to score a brace in that particular game, or it may have been a goal and an assist - I can't remember for sure.)

Edited June 9, 2020 by JoeH

[Mattyblue]

Who’s being dismissive? I, like you have no idea of how good he could be.

If TM feels he needs a new coach and DG interviews best, then that’s good enough for me. Remember, TM is a ‘football man’, his requirements for a coach won’t just be how many qualifications/university time he has, but if he feels he’s a leader the players will listen to/relate to, if he can use his playing experience to improve our strikers, if he’s a motivator, if he can play that bridging role between him and the players. 

Wholly uncontroversial in my view, to have only the highest standards in recruitment. That’s how organisations improve.

Edited June 9, 2020 by Mattyblue

[Guest]

18 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Wholly uncontroversial in my view, to have only the highest standards in recruitment. That’s how organisations improve.

I believe it is a controversial opinion to hold that we should be looking to hire those with qualifications over those with experience.

Most people would much rather have a highly able, successful striker who's made it to the very top of the game in England coaching young players at the club, than someone who's got a plethora of certificates.

It's not sentimental to think that the best thing for our club is experienced footballers coaching our younger players. You see it at every club up and down the country, it happens for a reason. Players like Danny Graham have much more to pass on than a non-pro-footballer coach.

And I don't think High Standards and the hiring of former football players are stand alone, separate and unaligned tropes. I think you can have high standards AND be hiring high quality former pro players. Again, Graham could be a shite coach, but the probability that he's a better coach than half the staff we have throughout our club is pretty high. For me, outside of any kind of sentiment, that's a risk worth taking.

Edited June 9, 2020 by JoeH

[Mattyblue]

Read my last post again, that’s not what I’m saying at all.

Of course football recruitment can’t be just based on qualifications, it’s too dynamic, coaches need real match day experience to draw on, too emotional an industry for that, relationships are all important. Can’t say I put much truck in ‘coaching badges’ anyway. 

My point was merely you don’t just hand out jobs because old pros round the place fancy it. You give them to people that can improve the club, if TM thinks he can, then sign him up. Fair enough, no?
 

 

Edited June 9, 2020 by Mattyblue

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

My point was merely you don’t just hand out jobs because old pros round the place fancy it. You give them to people that can improve the club, if TM thinks he can, then sign him up. Fair enough, no?

I don't really understand you're issue with my comments then.

Because obviously they don't just throw it at people, and OBVIOUSLY its not my decision.

I'm not trying to claim either of those things. If that's your point, and your point alone, I don't see where we differ here... 

[Mattyblue]

We are in agreement then, if TM thinks he is the best man for the job, then get him in.