Rovers v Canaries. Sat 12th Dec 3pm

[jim mk2]

47 minutes ago, matt83 said:

Let’s see what he can do in the summer. Can’t possibly sack a manager 10 games into a new season. 

A ruthless owner who knew what he wanted and who knew the game would sack Mowbray on Monday morning

[Torgeir]

Crazy that we're sitting in 12th, 12 points behind league leaders Norwich, with only two teams on better goal difference than us (Watford the same).

 

Going forward Ayala needs to be in the team alongside Lenihan, and let them form a strong partnership. Douglas hasn't impressed me so far. Lacks pace, decision making and slows down play too much. Has a good left peg but when Gallagher plays on his side there no one to cross to (in the air).

 

To everyone saying this season is already over: Nonsense.

[47er]

9 minutes ago, Torgeir said:

Crazy that we're sitting in 12th, 12 points behind league leaders Norwich, with only two teams on better goal difference than us (Watford the same).

 

Going forward Ayala needs to be in the team alongside Lenihan, and let them form a strong partnership. Douglas hasn't impressed me so far. Lacks pace, decision making and slows down play too much. Has a good left peg but when Gallagher plays on his side there no one to cross to (in the air).

 

To everyone saying this season is already over: Nonsense.

We can't beat teams above us can we? That's a lot of points we aren't getting.

[Bigdoggsteel]

14 minutes ago, Torgeir said:

Crazy that we're sitting in 12th, 12 points behind league leaders Norwich, with only two teams on better goal difference than us (Watford the same).

 

Going forward Ayala needs to be in the team alongside Lenihan, and let them form a strong partnership. Douglas hasn't impressed me so far. Lacks pace, decision making and slows down play too much. Has a good left peg but when Gallagher plays on his side there no one to cross to (in the air).

 

To everyone saying this season is already over: Nonsense.

Yep, fans demand all sorts from the team, but then themselves say the season is over with 18 games played. Hopefully the team don't look at it like that. I don't think they will. 

3 points against Rotherham and things won't be looking so bad. 

Edited December 12, 2020 by Bigdoggsteel

[Hoochie Bloochie Mama]

2 hours ago, tonygreenbank said:

How can you say the season is over on December 12th? Do you really mean that? There are plenty more games left and an equal number of twists and turns. 
Im not prepared to give up just yet.

I know, will it be 10th or will it be 14th. It's exciting!

[Fraserkirky]

We have missed Brereton more than I thought, come to think of it have we won a game he hasn’t started?

Travis too, you could argue our best three players are out. Elliott doesn’t really count as he is out there doing his own thing, nobody is even close to his level. It’s weird 

Looking forward to these next 5 more winnable matches I keep hearing about.

Lenihan, I thought was abysmal again, so erratic. Douglas as well, dreadful performance, so slow. 

Holtby was sooo much better second half and Rothwell was picking up again and then they get subbed. Terrible from Tony. Bell should have been on for Douglas at half time

There is plenty of hope for the rest of the season, not done yet but this was a brutal stretch.  

Edited December 12, 2020 by Fraserkirky

[Uddersfelt Blue]

Bell needs to be back in for Douglas.

The defence needs to defend first and foremost. Unless we stop conceding goals we are never going to progress in this league. 
 

 

[roversfan99]

4 minutes ago, Uddersfelt Blue said:

Bell needs to be back in for Douglas.

The defence needs to defend first and foremost. Unless we stop conceding goals we are never going to progress in this league. 
 

 

Totally agree that we need to stop defending goals but nothing about Bell's Rovers career suggests that he is a player to facilitate that.

[Fraserkirky]

19 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Totally agree that we need to stop defending goals but nothing about Bell's Rovers career suggests that he is a player to facilitate that.

At least Bell can run

[Wood26]

I expected zero points from the last 3 games, and we got 1. Watching Bristol game that was there for the win, but a draw would of been fair. 
 

It’s concerning we can’t beat the top sides, but we are still with out 3 of our best players in Dack, Travis and Brereton. 
 

I’m banking on Dack coming back and being a real difference maker, if he’s not then, we’ll it’s gonna be tough to get top 6.

 

As annoying as it is this week, we are still going to lose 10+ games this season, so onto the next and let’s see where we end up.

[Wood26]

3 hours ago, Giant said:

Much as I like Arma, it was clear today that Pukki is on a different level. He was a menace throughout, not giving our defence a minute’s peace. His work rate is phenomenal, showing he’s not just a goal scorer. Top player.

Not sure what your point is here? Armstrong is very good at shutting down defenders and the keeper, and has 5 more goals in less games then Pukki.

Is Pukki better? Maybe, but who cares

[JHRover]

6 hours ago, DE. said:

Genuinely despise this disingenous nonsense, even worse when it's spouted by the manager. "But it's true" - yeah, but stripped of all context. We went down with 51 points which was frankly ridiculous and would have seen us safe almost any other season. We didn't have to sell a single player. Instead we bought the best player in League 1 and added to the squad. As a result we romped the league despite not playing very well at any point during the campaign. 

So, since we got relegated 8 years ago we've spent one solitary season in League 1 - which was a blip caused by the stupidity of our owners hiring a useless manager and waiting until February to sack him. That aside we've finished between 7th - 15th every season, barring the chaotic 12/13 season. 

To talk us down like we're Luton or Wycombe trying to find our way is insulting. It's embarrassing enough to hear it from our own fans, let alone the manager. No wonder we don't have the mentality to beat the top teams when the manager himself regards us in such a lowly fashion.

I can only repeat, we need a winner who understands and embraces what this club should be. 

Bang on. 

The manager is now publicly stating that his aim for the season is to be 'around' the top 6. Not necessarily to be in it, or to win the play-offs, but to be around it. What does that even mean? I can guarantee now that with 5-10 games remaining this season there will be at least 10 clubs either in the play off positions or 'around' them. Anyone within 5-6 points will be able to claim that. It is the whole point behind the play off system to ensure that most teams in the division have something to play for going into the later stages of the season. It isn't an achievement because only 4 of those 10+ will actually get in there and only 1 of them will get promoted. 

This is the sort of blurring of lines between success and failure that Mowbray is getting good at achieving. Already downgrading success for the season from promotion to now being happy to be around the top 6.

He needs asking how many years he thinks it is going to take to get to being a promotion ready side and if he believes we will ever be that because if not he might as well pack his bags now. 

I've no doubt that if he leads us to 60 odd points and can arm himself with the usual statistics on possession and goals he can then jet off to India in May and prove his progress. He'll get even more plaudits when Klopp gratefully takes Elliott back a year more experienced and he can mention how Ivic, Tindall and Farke all rated us in the newspapers. 

[Wood26]

5 hours ago, LDRover said:

Totally agree. And the fact we are no better off in the league is a damning indictment on the manager and says all you need to know about his ability to take us further.

If the benchmark is going to be a new manager comes in and takes us straight up, we are going to get through a lot of managers.

You Mowbray out lot really don’t see the big picture. He built this team, they love him, they love being here. You boot him out, Armstrong loyalty goes. Bennett prob gets shipped out, a huge player in our changing room. Johnson is here through his connection to Bennett. You lose big characters you lose the dressing room. Dack probably has loyalty to Mowbray, we know he wants to go, doubt prem teams want him.

Its obvious from players who stayed or left the dressing room has a strong bond, and Mowbray is big part of that, ship him out to bring in god knows who because you demand premier league football is suicide for us.

And that’s not even getting started on how venkys were pre Mowbray. What key player we sold since Mowbray got in? No one.

The Mowbray out crew, the same ones who wanted Big Sam out. How that go?

[JHRover]

5 hours ago, Paul Mellelieu said:

 

I think we have made significant progress in our general play and in our overall ability, and we can only hope that the returning players will improve our performances. However we are playing catch-up with the relegated teams and some better funded outfits than us.  

 

I think TM hasn't worked out how to turn promising performances against the better teams into points.  If he does, we are looking at a good season: if not then there's a good discussion to be had.

We are sandwiched between Luton Town and Barnsley neither of whom have spent remotely near what Mowbray has here, so lets drop the funding excuse. 

I'm also pretty sure that we've had a bigger net spend than the likes of Swansea, Reading, Middlesbrough and Cardiff over the last couple of years.

[rossyrover]

Mid table again this season Mowbray is decent enough bloke but an average football manager and if you are happy with mid table championship football then Mowbray is your man me I would prefer a manager who can get Rovers into the Premiership.

[G Somerset Rover]

14 minutes ago, JHRover said:

He needs asking how many years he thinks it is going to take to get to being a promotion ready side and if he believes we will ever be that because if not he might as well pack his bags now.

I’m pretty confident he said ‘3 windows’ a good 5+ windows ago. From memory it was said in reference to keeping the likes of Lenihan at the club. Funnily enough the local media haven’t quizzed him about it.

Edited December 13, 2020 by Gavlar Somerset Rover!

[G Somerset Rover]

11 minutes ago, Wood26 said:

The Mowbray out crew, the same ones who wanted Big Sam out. How that go?

Utter nonsense to even compare the two.

Edited December 13, 2020 by Gavlar Somerset Rover!

[JHRover]

5 minutes ago, Wood26 said:

If the benchmark is going to be a new manager comes in and takes us straight up, we are going to get through a lot of managers.

You Mowbray out lot really don’t see the big picture. He built this team, they love him, they love being here. You boot him out, Armstrong loyalty goes. Bennett prob gets shipped out, a huge player in our changing room. Johnson is here through his connection to Bennett. You lose big characters you lose the dressing room. Dack probably has loyalty to Mowbray, we know he wants to go, doubt prem teams want him.

Its obvious from players who stayed or left the dressing room has a strong bond, and Mowbray is big part of that, ship him out to bring in god knows who because you demand premier league football is suicide for us.

And that’s not even getting started on how venkys were pre Mowbray. What key player we sold since Mowbray got in? No one.

The Mowbray out crew, the same ones who wanted Big Sam out. How that go?

So we can't change manager because Mowbray signed the players and they like him? Whatever happened to the club comes first? These are meant to be professionals who play for whichever manager the club appoints. 

Seems a very amateurish setup to me. Players here because of their mates and Mowbray has been afforded far too much power and influence over the entire club way beyond what a manager in 2020 should have and that then protects his position further.

The 'Mowbray out crew' aren't the same as the 'Big Sam out' crew. I'm a member of the Mowbray out crew whereas I loved Big Sam and would have him here now, 10 years after his departure. 

[Wood26]

3 minutes ago, JHRover said:

So we can't change manager because Mowbray signed the players and they like him? Whatever happened to the club comes first? These are meant to be professionals who play for whichever manager the club appoints. 

Seems a very amateurish setup to me. Players here because of their mates and Mowbray has been afforded far too much power and influence over the entire club way beyond what a manager in 2020 should have and that then protects his position further.

The 'Mowbray out crew' aren't the same as the 'Big Sam out' crew. I'm a member of the Mowbray out crew whereas I loved Big Sam and would have him here now, 10 years after his departure. 

But that’s the way it is, like it or not. We signed Savage and Bellamy because we had Mark Hughes.

Sack Mowbray now, with players like Nyambe contract running out, new manager could be a dud, like the 4/5 before Mowbray saved us and it could be curtains for us.

We watch on a Saturday, the team is together all week, there’s so much more to it then what we see on the pitch.

[Wood26]

21 minutes ago, Gavlar Somerset Rover! said:

Utter nonsense to even compare the two.

Is it? Why?

[Sparks Rover]

42 minutes ago, Wood26 said:

I’m banking on Dack coming back and being a real difference maker,

Has he suddenly grown 6 inches and can play centre half?

[Sparks Rover]

31 minutes ago, Wood26 said:

Bennett prob gets shipped out, a huge player in our changing room.

We need huge players on the pitch.  You're certainly on the wind up.this evening my friend. Bennett encapsulates exactly what is wrong in one player.  Would you be a happy clapper if I'm a Mowbray out type?👏👏👏

[roversfan99]

Those who believe that it is a time for a manager can very easily be painted as a blood thirsty mob desperate for instant success based on unrealistic expectations. Implying that those who want the manager out also wanted Big Sam out is a lazy assumption again aimed at making those who want a change are impatient, irrational and too demanding against all logic.

The fact of the matter is, opinions about the playing style put to one side, despite having more time than any manager (bar Wycombe's) in the league, despite attempting to play a new style to dominate (a change which whilst most agree that it is more entertaining is no more productive) and despite signing numerous players and spending money, a few of which (Kaminski and Elliott in particular this season) are huge upgrades on what we had before. In regards to points tallies and results compared to previous years, we havent improved. We also havent even popped our head into the play offs even for a day/week/couple of hours since the third match, the top 6 is the target but we cant yet realistically be even deemed serious contenders.

It is fair to acknowledge that there would be a small risk should the manager be changed. Mowbray could not be accused of being a terrible manager or doing a terrible job of which no one could do worse. But considering the potential reward of promotion against what would take a Coyle esque appointment AND a fire sale I would suspect to create any danger of relegation, advocating a change 4 years into a managerial reign is not being impatient.

The idea that half the squad would revolt and leave because Mowbray went is very much clutching at straws.

[Sparks Rover]

1 minute ago, roversfan99 said:

The idea that half the squad would revolt and leave because Mowbray went is very much clutching at straws.

The only reason they'd revolt is because half of them would be shipped out under a Pearson. My pick to replace Mowbray.   

[LDRover]

51 minutes ago, Wood26 said:

If the benchmark is going to be a new manager comes in and takes us straight up, we are going to get through a lot of managers.

You Mowbray out lot really don’t see the big picture. He built this team, they love him, they love being here. You boot him out, Armstrong loyalty goes. Bennett prob gets shipped out, a huge player in our changing room. Johnson is here through his connection to Bennett. You lose big characters you lose the dressing room. Dack probably has loyalty to Mowbray, we know he wants to go, doubt prem teams want him.

Its obvious from players who stayed or left the dressing room has a strong bond, and Mowbray is big part of that, ship him out to bring in god knows who because you demand premier league football is suicide for us.

And that’s not even getting started on how venkys were pre Mowbray. What key player we sold since Mowbray got in? No one.

The Mowbray out crew, the same ones who wanted Big Sam out. How that go?

No idea what your point is or what you're rambling on about but regardless of loyalties, style of play, better players, Venkys and whatever else it's patently CLEAR that Mowbray is not the man to take us up out of this division. 

That is all that matters because, whether you like it or not, stagnating in this league cannot go on indefinitely.