John Eustace - our head coach

[roversfan99]

Im sick of reading the manager and players repeatedly say how we need the fans. The players need to give the fans something to cheer about for once, the fans have been doing their bit.

[RTM08]

48 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Im sick of reading the manager and players repeatedly say how we need the fans. The players need to give the fans something to cheer about for once, the fans have been doing their bit.

It's really easy - if a team like Millwall is sitting back and we need the win, actually go for it. The fans will get behind you and push you into them, and the opposition will have more pressure on them. 

Tapping it around the back 5 and making no effort to win a game, especially when you are in the position we are, is obviously going to get the fans on your back.

I can't remember the last manager whose interviews grated like this. I don't even remember Coyle being this annoying.

[lraC]

A chorus of Ole, as we pass it around at the back V Plymouth at 0-0 in a he 89th minute.

The manager has already stated it isn’t a must win, so we will be happy with a draw or a defeat then. 

[Upside Down]

Fuck off useless.

Just add him to the list of shit cunts we've had in the dugout over the venkys era.

He belongs right there next to coyle.

[Paul Mellelieu]

6 hours ago, Upside Down said:

Fuck off useless.

Just add him to the list of shit cunts we've had in the dugout over the venkys era.

He belongs right there next to coyle.

Do try to be a bit more civil.  

[Roverthechimp]

7 hours ago, Upside Down said:

Fuck off useless.

Just add him to the list of shit cunts we've had in the dugout over the venkys era.

He belongs right there next to coyle.

Be nice - Hyamey, Gally’y, Hedgey, Pearsy and Brittney (sic) are much happier now that everything is the fans fault whilst not being forced to do stupid things like learn how to pass and control a football whilst still being exonerated for being crap at defending 

Waiting for one of them or JE to raise our fantastic bus/coach…

[Upside Down]

1 hour ago, Paul Mellelieu said:

Do try to be a bit more civil.  

Civil unrest is not only justified but necessary. 

 

[Oldgregg86]

1 hour ago, Roverthechimp said:

Be nice - Hyamey, Gally’y, Hedgey, Pearsy and Brittney (sic) are much happier now that everything is the fans fault whilst not being forced to do stupid things like learn how to pass and control a football whilst still being exonerated for being crap at defending 

Waiting for one of them or JE to raise our fantastic bus/coach…

Brittany is about right 

[BlackburnEnd75]

15 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

Im sick of reading the manager and players repeatedly say how we need the fans. The players need to give the fans something to cheer about for once, the fans have been doing their bit.

I thought the crowd really got behind the team in the 1st half to try and get them going. They didn't respond and the crowd fell back into apathy. It's on the manager / players right to do their jobs.

[tomphil]

There is way too much hate floating around for this guy hes only been here 5 mins.

I get the frustration at the football and lack of wins but it's 2  wins in 18 and that tells you the story here better than any managerial soundbites.  He's here to try and keep us up so we need to lay off him and stick to the real causes of this mess don't fall into the trap, he's just another human shield they've thrown up to protect themselves.

Had the fans not started kicking off i'm sure they'd have made JDT stick it out unless he or someone else bought out his contract. Only reason this happened all so quickly is because the fans, guided by JDTS comments, turned the heat up on the Shadowman and the Fat controller.

Don't kid yourselves otherwise, the whole mess is down to those 2 and that 4 over in India.

 

[Mattyblue]

If his contract was bought out that would mean Coyle (far too late BTW) is still the only manager they’ve sacked since 2015.

So if and when things go awry with Eustace, who’s buying his out?

Edited March 8, 2024 by Mattyblue

[Dreams of 1995]

1 hour ago, tomphil said:

There is way too much hate floating around for this guy hes only been here 5 mins.

Absolutely. Good post tomphil

Somehow there's been a narrative formed that Eustace is this "yes man". It's bollocks

I have tried not to post much on the now two threads we have on Eustace. The other thread just being a total fucking joke for a Rovers fan forum by the way. I know John will never read this but him being called a cunt, useless, stupid or whatever else after a few weeks as head coach is almost making me turn away from contributing to the forum in the future. Given it is now a trend to screenshot comments from other Rovers fan platforms and post on here for a bitchfest you'd think they'd then think harder about their own posts. I guess not

It is misdirected anger. In some cases, it is just petulant and crap posting. Treating a fan discussion board as an almost personal notice board for mouth-frothing rants is no way to contribute

The comparisons between Eustace and Kean are just pathetic. Time for people to grow up I think. He's a bloke who like us loves football. He is not here to be a yes man or to fleece the club; he's been given a job to do, and he will try as best he can to do it. If the squad or he isn't up to it then really you have to point the blame at the people who have allowed it to get to this point. That isn't John. Calling him every name under the sun on a message board might make you feel a bit better, but it makes you look rather stupid yourself

Edited March 8, 2024 by Dreams of 1995

[tomphil]

It's like hes been tared and feathered as straight out of the Kean/Coyle stable of ####s just installed here by a third party to do their dirty work.

A bit too early to be marking him down like that imo.

Trying to portray him as a hate figure is pathetic to be honest he's just another run of the mill British coach walking into a mess and trying to stabilise it using his previous trusted methods.  No different to anyone else walking in just like when Mowbray did and if it wasn't him it'd be someone of very similar ilk.

Not saying i'm impressed or a huge fan but i can at least see where it all stems from and the much wider issues he's dealing with and after a few weeks he shouldn't have to fight fans as well, all he's doing is trying to pacify everybody and that's understandable.

We are likely stuck with him whatever happens now so no point doing anything other than backing him in the next few games at least.

[booth]

Neither JDT or Eustace should take the blame if we get relegated.

Some people are in denial if they think anyone can get a better tune out of this weak willed, limited squad.

The owners are to blame 100%.

[booth]

18 hours ago, RTM08 said:

It's really easy - if a team like Millwall is sitting back and we need the win, actually go for it. The fans will get behind you and push you into them, and the opposition will have more pressure on them. 

Tapping it around the back 5 and making no effort to win a game, especially when you are in the position we are, is obviously going to get the fans on your back.

For me that's on the players. They've been poor under two managers, some three.

I wouldn't be surprised in all scenarios if they've been either not arsed, or lack the ability to follow instructions.

[DE.]

Eustace's comments are basically the same as 99% of managers at any club. The only ones who speak their mind openly are those who know they can walk straight into another job via their reputation alone, or those who don't really need the job but just can't give up the football bug even in old age when they should be long retired.

It's a self-preservation thing first and foremost. Not only for their current job but jobs in the future as well. Other clubs aren't going to look upon you too favourably if you've been spouting off about your previous club's issues when you were there. Being media-savvy and onside with higher management is the name of the game - whether you're in football or practically any other industry. Football just happens to have a much wider audience than your typical job, magnifying any comments made in public.  

We had 18 months of a bloke who didn't feel the need to pander to those above him. Someone who was quite happy to speak his mind, presumably because he felt like if he did go he would get another job elsewhere without downgrading. By the end I imagine he felt like practically any job would be better than dealing with the incompetence of Rovers under Venky's. 

Going from JDT's brutal honesty to a 'normal' manager toeing the line was always going to be difficult. You get used to the refreshing honesty, only to return to cliché's and empty words. It is what it is. I don't blame Eustace for the stance he's taken, and all I care about is whether he improves the team and gets enough points on the board to keep us up this season. 

Early assessment: better defensively, but still conceding and not scoring much. It's obvious the balance still needs to be tweaked. We'll see if he can get it done.

[levi]

I don't like him

 

I don't have an explanation other than sometimes i take an instant dislike to somebody...and i did to him

[Ewood Ace]

He strikes me as another Appleton. He has come into a struggling team and is totally out of his depth as to how to turn it around. I was sceptical about the appointment when it was made and I have seen nothing to win me over yet, everything about him seems uninspiring.  

[Upside Down]

The guy is a loser. 

Never sets up to win. Is happy to just not get beat against Plymouth Argyle for fuck sake.

First thing he does is come in and make sly digs at the previous head coach. You know,  the guy who's achieved more under this ownership than anybody else. The guy who actually had a sense of pride and ambition. 

Well he hasn't won a single game yet and we've played some of the shittest teams we've played all year. If there's no excuse then why haven't we won?

We all know the squad we have is absolutely gash and we know where the blame lies for our relegation. That doesn't change the fact this guy isn't good enough and the shit he's been talking tells me he's just a desperate yes man looking for an easy job. 

Him and the players with their gestures to the fans can all fuck right off. Show us some fucking respect. 

 

Edited March 8, 2024 by Upside Down

[chaddyrovers]

I do think that some of the comments linking Eustace to Kean or Coyle is bullshit and not warranted at all. Calling him some of the names people have is childish and pathetic to read. When we lose I tend to keep away from the messageboard cos this place is toxic and horrible to read. 

We have got 7 points from the last 7 games since JDT whilst its a brilliant return it is better than the previous 10 games returned. You also have to factor in that Eustace has wanted to stop Rovers leaking so many goals and play more pragmatic style(like plenty on here wanted us to do so) and also have very little time on the training field and to actually coach the players in what he wants on the field.  

I have said previously that he has tried to make harder to beat, more defensive solid like Mark Hughes did when he came in. In Hughes first 9 games he only won 1, drew 5 and lost 3. 

[Mattyblue]

22 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

When we lose I tend to keep away from the messageboard 

 

No you don’t 😅

[roversfan99]

Eustace has been the manager for 4 points from 6 games, and no wins. They are the facts.

Comparisons to Mark Hughes are off the mark as he was up against teams like Chelsea and Liverpool in the Premier League. Weve had a fairly favourable run of fixtures under Eustace with no opposition in the top 6 and have still not won.

Style is means to an end, it isnt a black and white yardstick and ultimately I think people just want what leads to good results. I very much doubt that people would rather us play more direct aesthetically, but Tomassons gung ho approach with the current squad wasnt getting results and most (one notable exception) probably recognised that. Equally, Eustace has nullified us going forward and we still arent keeping clean sheets. He doesnt seem to see any value in trying to win a game even in the last 2 home games late on when drawing.

Talk of him being like Kean or Coyle is obviously totally unfair and is clearly an emotional reaction as we continue to struggle.

[Upside Down]

20 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Eustace has been the manager for 4 points from 6 games, and no wins. They are the facts.

Comparisons to Mark Hughes are off the mark as he was up against teams like Chelsea and Liverpool in the Premier League. Weve had a fairly favourable run of fixtures under Eustace with no opposition in the top 6 and have still not won.

Style is means to an end, it isnt a black and white yardstick and ultimately I think people just want what leads to good results. I very much doubt that people would rather us play more direct aesthetically, but Tomassons gung ho approach with the current squad wasnt getting results and most (one notable exception) probably recognised that. Equally, Eustace has nullified us going forward and we still arent keeping clean sheets. He doesnt seem to see any value in trying to win a game even in the last 2 home games late on when drawing.

Talk of him being like Kean or Coyle is obviously totally unfair and is clearly an emotional reaction as we continue to struggle.

It's his gesturing to the fans and allowing the players to do the same that puts him in the kean and coyle category.

The squad has been stripped bare, deliberately, so nobody is expecting a ten game winning streak but coming in with his "no excuses" and chin up gestures to the fans has put him in the firing line.

We've all seen this before, it's not the totally inept manager or the owners decimation of the entire club or the selling off every decent player on the cheap with no reinvestment or the absolutely piss weak players that are left or the toxic atmosphere around the whole club from above. No no, it's the fans that are to blame. The loyal fans that spend their hard earned money to go to watch the team week in week out. It's them and their big meanie boos and negative chants demanding some shred of professionalism. They are to blame for all of this.

So yes, based on the stall useless has set out in this regard, he is of the kean and coyle variety. Yet another one under venkys.

[Spankus Munky]

Guy is a straight out of the coaching manual without a lick of personality type coach, produced en masse in this country. He is exactly like Kean and Coyle and countless others from the production line of ragdolls that pass for managers in this country. So afraid to actually try and add something outside of the bullet point presentations drilled into them on the coaching courses that they forget that a bit of personality and belief can actually get the results desired, you know like Luton achieved last season... Ipswich this.

The football produced on the pitch is exactly like his personality and aura... Dour. Is he a Strong, demanding manger who rules with an iron fist? no. Is he a Tactical genius who makes Pep scratch his head in awe? no. Is he a man of the people who leads with raw passion and vigor? no! He is yet another mass produced ex player who did nothing in his career and spent more time off the pitch than on it and decided to use his time grabbing his coaching badges to keep stealing a living off football.

Edited March 9, 2024 by Spankus Munky

[philipl]

Whoever came after the class act that was JDT was going to look inept in comparison.

From what I can see, Eustace is playing the type of pragmatic football essential in our circumstances.

The more the opposition has the ball the greater their opportunity to test Wahlstadt. So against Millwall we needed 70% ball possession and that is pretty well what we got. I fully expect plenty of tippy tappy stuff today too.