Souness on Rovers

[roverandout]

Rovers 7 west ham 1. Dunn wonder strike. Crys of 'are u watching ericsson '

[Mike E]

32 minutes ago, roverandout said:

Rovers 7 west ham 1. Dunn wonder strike. Crys of 'are u watching ericsson '

Didn't that game feature Tugay's first goal too?

[SuperBrfc]

A brilliant interview. Listening to that brings back so many good memories. It takes me back to a sunny last day of the season against Fulham in 2002 where Duff and Cole had a field day as we cruised to a 3-0 win. Good weather, good crowd, good football, happy days.

Some of the football we played between 2000-03 was a joy to watch. Duff, Dunn, Tugay, Jansen, Cole. Then add in the battlers like Short, Berg, Neill, Flitcroft. We had a superb mix. That was evident with how we could both play and get stuck in.

I love how Souness says "Oh, so you want to play that game, do you?", in relation to those wanting to rough us up, so he went and made sure we had an aggressive side to our game to stand up to that. That's a proper manager, proactive, brave and possessing a will to win. The man in the dugout today is so far on the other end of the scale to Souness it's unreal.

We always had belief going into games back then and that was largely due to how Souness was. We had good players, yeah, but he instilled the right attitude. You knew he would be tearing strips off them when things weren't going well. There were no bullshit excuses, no "we can't compete with...". Heck, we squared up to probably the best Arsenal side around (a season before the invincibles) and did the double over them! The thought of that today would bloody terrify Mowbray and Waggott (Even with a hypothetical £300m budget).

Try asking Souness if there are any positives to take out of a cup defeat to Morecambe and he'd probably want to rip your head off.

The biggest take away from that interview is: we had a manager, a board and owners all pulling in the same direction and all wanting the best for the club. We have none of that today, and won't have that again until the whole lot of these gutless cowards are gone and new owners are in place.

(Apologies for the long post, I can't help it when talking about those times)

[roverandout]

1 hour ago, Mike E said:

Didn't that game feature Tugay's first goal too?

Yep. Brilliant game 

[den]

Shame it stopped after 30 mins. I could listen to Souey all night. 
 

There are a small number of people in some sports, who I sit upright and listen to and Souness is pretty near the top of that list. I know Dunny won’t like it but he HAS been there and done it all. The appealing thing about Souey to me is that he’s genuine and he’s  as honest as they come. He holds your attention when he talks.

Thanks for posting the link for the interview.

[tomphil]

5 minutes ago, den said:

Shame it stopped after 30 mins. I could listen to Souey all night. 
 

There are a small number of people in some sports, who I sit upright and listen to and Souness is pretty near the top of that list. I know Dunny won’t like it but he HAS been there and done it all. The appealing thing about Souey to me is that he’s genuine and he’s  as honest as they come. He holds your attention when he talks.

Thanks for posting the link for the interview.

I was going to mention this early but on the point of listening to him i don't think iv'e ever seen a manager at Rovers bring the concourse to a standstill pre game when they had him on the in house tv.

It was noticeable the hush that came over the pre match chatter when he popped up on the screen. Could definitely listen to him all day if ever a guy always said the right things and you believed he meant them it was him.

[Oldgregg86]

i wonder what souness's take on surrendering the league at charlton would be. Night and day difference between a winner and a salary. I hope tony watches this and hangs his head for all the comments he has made and surrendering the title. 

95 tony, There is far more to blackburn rovers than 1995. A pride and passion you left in the smog

[Dan]

18 minutes ago, Oldgregg86 said:

i wonder what souness's take on surrendering the league at charlton would be. Night and day difference between a winner and a salary. I hope tony watches this and hangs his head for all the comments he has made and surrendering the title. 

95 tony, There is far more to blackburn rovers than 1995. A pride and passion you left in the smog

Can you imagine Souness snoozing in his chair all afternoon whilst we play? 
 

Souness was a winner, Tony is just a joke. 

[Roving Mick]

Souey knew how to discipline players.

Anger Management

[Claytons Left Boot]

An excellent piece. As he says at the end, he had twenty years playing, twenty years coaching and then almost twenty years in the media. Yes, he was lucky but, at the same time, cream rises to the top and that’s one of the reasons that he’s been right up there for that length of time.

I know a few ex work colleagues who are Burnley fans, who are quick to take the p!ss at our current predicament. The Clarettes are in their seventh PL season and apart from a couple of very good keepers, they’ve had barely a good outfield player in that time. All bread and butter journeymen footballers, nothing more.

My reply to them would be Dunny, Duffer, Berg, Short, Jansen, Hughes, Cole, Friedel and so on. Despite our rise to the top and winning the League during the Dalglish years, I think I enjoyed the Souness years just as much because there was a nice blend of experience and youth, with the latter having come through our academy when you include players like Tiny Taylor and Damien Johnson.

Well worth the listen if anyone is still thinking about it. I think Graeme had a tear in his eye at one point. I certainly did.

[simongarnerisgod]

it did`nt take long for souness to make his presence felt,the kidd side was soon discarded,all done in half a season,the next season were promoted,it`s took mowbray five years to get us nowhere and the possibility of promotion is a forgotten dream,there is more chance of sean dyche ripping his shirt off and parading a rovers top along the longside touchline😅

[Oldgregg86]

I apologise profusely for taking such a positive thread slightly off but the whole time I was watching that I couldn’t help but notice how much Souness was struggling to remember players names , Not as a one off but all the way through he seem to struggle slightly more than your average person would with remembering things. Then the Tony parkes and heading a ball debate popped up towards the end and it just worried me slightly. Did anyone else notice this or is it all in my head ?

Edited August 13, 2021 by Oldgregg86

[mode_m]

Fantastic interview, thanks for posting.  Brings back a lot of good memories.

[RevidgeBlue]

1 hour ago, Oldgregg86 said:

I apologise profusely for taking such a positive thread slightly off but the whole time I was watching that I couldn’t help but notice how much Souness was struggling to remember players names , Not as a one off but all the way through he seem to struggle slightly more than your average person would with remembering things. Then the Tony parkes and heading a ball debate popped up towards the end and it just worried me slightly. Did anyone else notice this or is it all in my head ?

Far more likely to be related to the medication he will have been on for years for his triple heart bypass I'd have thought.

[LDRover]

Great interview, loved every minute of it. What a side that promotion one was with great leadership on and off the pitch - as far removed as is possible with now.

Favourite memory among many was when he took the team to Glasgow by train to play Celtic and led the team on foot through the city centre. No shits given despite half of the city hating him. 

[riverholmes]

I'm not such a big fan of Souness - though we did emerge out of the mire with him. He deserves a lot of credit for promotion, the Worthington Cup and high league finish but he was extremely fortunate to inherit Damien Duff, David Dunn and Matt Jansen in the team. I would suggest that he was also fortunate to inherit a well-run club, led by John Williams, though, on the pitch it was in disarray (Lee Carsley top scorer, I seem to remember). To my mind, Souness was able to manage the young players but often failed with experienced players, as we saw we his numerous bust ups. He liked to tap into the old boys network when signing players and whilst very successful with Tugay and Friedel, he failed miserably with others, such as Amoruso, Sukur, Unsal, Ferguson and the £6/7 million signing of Ciccio Grabbi, with his Serie B/C goal record and history of Ledderhose disease (see this link, in Italian) was beyond negligent.

He got found out tactically and embarked on bizarre choices such as Dominic Matteo left midfield and Dino Baggio, the renowned Italian defensive midfielder, as a forward. Just as with the incredible luck Rovers had when Birmingham actually paid to take Dwight Yorke off us, Newcastle coming in for Souness was a huge relief for many fans. But for the goals of Jon Stead, signed in February 2004, we probably would've been relegated in 2003/04. Things got so bad that we had Jonathan Douglas on the left of midfield, with Andresen, Tugay and Flitcroft alongside him, as Souness went ultra-defensive to protect the failing defence, that included Amoruso and Gresko. He should be remembered for some of his major achievements but I consider him an impressive figure for young players to be motivated by but weak in just about every other area.

Edited August 13, 2021 by riverholmes

[Mr. E]

1 hour ago, riverholmes said:

I'm not such a big fan of Souness - though we did emerge out of the mire with him. He deserves a lot of credit for promotion, the Worthington Cup and high league finish but he was extremely fortunate to inherit Damien Duff, David Dunn and Matt Jansen in the team. I would suggest that he was also fortunate to inherit a well-run club, led by John Williams, though, on the pitch it was in disarray (Lee Carsley top scorer, I seem to remember). To my mind, Souness was able to manage the young players but often failed with experienced players, as we saw we his numerous bust ups. He liked to tap into the old boys network when signing players and whilst very successful with Tugay and Friedel, he failed miserably with others, such as Amoruso, Sukur, Unsal, Ferguson and the £6/7 million signing of Ciccio Grabbi, with his Serie B/C goal record and history of Ledderhose disease (see this link, in Italian) was beyond negligent.

He got found out tactically and embarked on bizarre choices such as Dominic Matteo left midfield and Dino Baggio, the renowned Italian defensive midfielder, as a forward. Just as with the incredible luck Rovers had when Birmingham actually paid to take Dwight Yorke off us, Newcastle coming in for Souness was a huge relief for many fans. But for the goals of Jon Stead, signed in February 2004, we probably would've been relegated in 2003/04. Things got so bad that we had Jonathan Douglas on the left of midfield, with Andresen, Tugay and Flitcroft alongside him, as Souness went ultra-defensive to protect the failing defence, that included Amoruso and Gresko. He should be remembered for some of his major achievements but I consider him an impressive figure for young players to be motivated by but weak in just about every other area.

"not such a big fan...weak in just about every other area"... yet he got us promoted to the Premiership, he got us into Europe, he won us a cup, and had us, for at least a season or two, playing easily our best and most entertaining football since the title wining days.

If that gets you a "not such a big fan...weak in just about every other area" response from some fans, dare I ask what you must think about Mowbray and his utter stench of a managerial performance, like his "many positives" from home defeats to Morecambe?

[Oldgregg86]

Was slightly to young to appreciate the title winning side but Souness and his team was by far the best and most entertaining side I have seen in my life time and will probably and sadly never be matched. Quite disrespectful comments I feel from you riverholmes. 

Will always be a rovers legend in my eyes 

[tomphil]

Fans have to accept most managers even good ones have a shelf life and Souness was no different.  They need their big signings and big players to keep performing and they need big money to replace those when they don't.

Without that then what once worked stops working the same and then the rot sets in and it's time to move on. Souness took Rovers as far as he could and it was a spectacular ride but after it peaked he was out of ideas so started gambling. His policy was big names and big egos, don't need much coaching just need motivating and pulling into line.

Amoruso, Ferguson, Yorke, Sukar etc just didn't work like Tugay, Friedel, Cole and a few others.  You could see what he was trying to do but it didn't work and he lost the plot and his rag. We were just fortunate he peaked in his management years here for a few years and it was always going to come off the rails at some point.

I get people like to point out the failings but he really should be judged on his success. The rest doesn't really matter because the club was run superbly and we turned it around because they employed the right guy.

A guy who they probably wouldn't have appointed if it wasn't for Souness introducing him to the club in the first place.

Oh to have one of them back now!

[riverholmes]

31 minutes ago, tomphil said:

Fans have to accept most managers even good ones have a shelf life and Souness was no different.  They need their big signings and big players to keep performing and they need big money to replace those when they don't.

Yes, and Mowbray peaked, as a manager, at West Bromwich Albion, seemingly, when he won the Championship and reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup in 2007/08. He assembled a really good team with Zoltan Gera, Jon Greening, Robert Koren and James Morrison in midfield, with Chris Brunt supporting and strikers like Kevin Phillips, Roman Bednar and Ishmael Miller.

That season, from a glance at the records, Mowbray's management team reinvested brilliantly, having sold star names such as Diomansy Kamara, Nathan Ellington and Jason Koumas. At the time and, even, once in the Premier League, his team received rave reviews for the style of play.

Edited August 13, 2021 by riverholmes

[jim mk2]

2 hours ago, riverholmes said:

Newcastle coming in for Souness was a huge relief for many fans. But for the goals of Jon Stead, signed in February 2004, we probably would've been relegated in 2003/04.

Good post. Amid all the well deserved praise for Souness in his early years he had well and truly lost the plot by the end. You're right - there was a sigh of relief when he went, and his decision to leave took some of the heat off John Williams, who should have sacked him several months before. 

Overall he was great for Rovers, but certainly left the club in a mess. 

[jim mk2]

3 hours ago, LDRover said:

Great interview, loved every minute of it. What a side that promotion one was with great leadership on and off the pitch - as far removed as is possible with now.

Favourite memory among many was when he took the team to Glasgow by train to play Celtic and led the team on foot through the city centre. No shits given despite half of the city hating him. 

I didn't know he did that - funnily enough, we did the same, having a few drinks in the city centre and then walking with trepidation to the match through the Celtic-supporting east end. For pure football, Rovers' performance that night was probably one of the best I've ever seen. We played Celtic off the pitch and they barely had a kick. It was beautiful to watch. Then Martin Taylor went to sleep from a corner with about 5 minutes left 

 

[tomphil]

8 hours ago, riverholmes said:

Yes, and Mowbray peaked, as a manager, at West Bromwich Albion, seemingly, when he won the Championship and reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup in 2007/08. He assembled a really good team with Zoltan Gera, Jon Greening, Robert Koren and James Morrison in midfield, with Chris Brunt supporting and strikers like Kevin Phillips, Roman Bednar and Ishmael Miller.

That season, from a glance at the records, Mowbray's management team reinvested brilliantly, having sold star names such as Diomansy Kamara, Nathan Ellington and Jason Koumas. At the time and, even, once in the Premier League, his team received rave reviews for the style of play.

Aye and he peaked here the season after league 1 i'd say as it was obvious then he wasn't going to kick the team on.  A bit like Souness though if he'd left this or last summer then history would be quite kind to him in fans eyes in years to come. After promotion he had an increased budget and 6 million to invest but there was nothing wise about where it went aside from AA.

Now we are such a mess again he can't even re-invest that so instead of a repeat of his West Brom miracle we are more likely starring down the barrel of a Coventry job.

[Gav]

14 hours ago, LDRover said:

Favourite memory among many was when he took the team to Glasgow by train to play Celtic and led the team on foot through the city centre. No shits given despite half of the city hating him. 

He delayed coming out at the start of the game too, just to let the locals know he was here 😂

Brilliant stuff from Souness, pity John Williams didn’t take the larger allocation, more Rovers fans could have experienced that night, even in defeat.

As Jim says above, we tonked then on the night but conceded a sloppy goal against the run of play, the home performance was rubbish.

Edited August 14, 2021 by Gav

[Stuart]

10 hours ago, jim mk2 said:

Good post. Amid all the well deserved praise for Souness in his early years he had well and truly lost the plot by the end. You're right - there was a sigh of relief when he went, and his decision to leave took some of the heat off John Williams, who should have sacked him several months before. 

Overall he was great for Rovers, but certainly left the club in a mess. 

He left the club in the PL.

Personally I thought his biggest mistake was signing Dwight Yorke. Cole has been reinvigorated and Yorke brought him down again, and Souness along with him.