Ben Marshall - Under The Cosh Podcast #89

[RoverCanada]

Treating this as the general 'former Rovers on podcasts' thread 🙂

Benno on I Had Trials Once:

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/elliott-bennett-dealing-with-imposter-syndrome-super/id1459117353?i=1000698548123

Decent listen. Always was a likeable guy, and at least honest about his limits as a player! Ultimately scrapped together a heck of a career. Interestingly contrasts himself with his much more skilled younger brother, who got stuck in L1/L2 and maybe got to used to dominating with the ball, while Benno was a steady Championship player who managed a couple PL seasons through graft.

Main Rovers tidbits:

- Coyle was the worst manager he ever had, repeats stories we've heard from Graham/Conway/Mulgrew etc about what a joke he was re: training/tactics (IHTO hosts mention Willem Tomlinson told them that the young players loved Coyle's training because they didn't know any better, while the vets were fuming). Playing for Coyle made him hate football.

- Loved Mowbray (a breath of fresh air after Coyle...) and being at Rovers in general. Felt being honest about his bad start with Rovers helped win the fans over early. Some stories about Dack, Graham, Mulgrew, etc. Recounts the story of Dolan blowing away the senior players when he first joined as Preston reject.

- Usual Rovers contracts nonsense (I didn't exactly follow the numbers detailed below!): Recounts the story of the senior players' 33% Covid wage deferral. He and his agent tried offering to turn his deferral into a permanent wage cut in exchange for a contract extension. Mowbray on board with it. Then - surprise - 'the board' come back offering to cut the wage of his remaining year in half in exchange for another year at a 50% cut, so effectively play an extra year for free... He and his agent miffed. For his final year, Mowbray informs him he's not allowed to let him get over a certain number of appearances as it would trigger a 1-year extension at his prevailing wage. Bennett frustrated that his offer to take a wage cut for an extra year would've nullified that, but Rovers are still only offering a 50% wage cut for both years, so he barely plays. At the end of the year, Rovers offer a one-year extension at a 50% wage cut. All left a sour taste in his mouth, so declines that and goes to Shrewsbury at an 80% wage cut.

[Mattyblue]

Read through that post and just think of the club we had in 2010…

[TugaysMarlboro]

Is that Seddon chap Ashley Phillips' agent? Or was when he was at Rovers?

[Leonard Venkhater]

On 21/02/2023 at 13:03, Polky said:

Sacked 6 years ago today…What a truly awful appointment! 

The thing is..everybody and his dog knew that at the time...See Dave Whelan's comments about his time at Wigan and comments coming out of Bolton. This appointment is second only to the Kean one in terms of neglect/seemingly deliberate sabotage.