Eustace…he gone…*official*

[RevidgeBlue]

At least that statement is a better effort than the spiteful little offering after he was allowed to speak to Derby.

Someone has probably had their knuckles rapped over that.

As for Eustace he did a cracking job and Im grateful to him for the chance he's given us. Dont blame him for one moment for wanting to leave.

I hope Derby go down though.

Edited February 13 by RevidgeBlue

[Ricky]

That statement is much more professional than the last one. The significant investment nonsense has gone and been replaced by the truth. We did strengthen (slightly) in January. Someone took the keyboard off Swaggot by the looks of things. 

[Ricky]

Echo that Rev. I do think they’ll go down as well. 

[roverblue]

Hope Derby go down and we smash them at Pride Park in March.

[Trinidad Rover]

Why John Eustace left Blackburn - The Times

Another good article in a national paper.

Balanced but once again the players and us fans come out on top.

[Lancaster Rover]

From watching Derby a few times this season I think their biggest problem is that they're just not very good, JE will get them organised, etc but the players at their disposal are inferior to those at Rovers and will leak goals whilst struggling to convert them. Looking around them a number of teams have better squads and are hitting a bit of form, whereas they seem to be treading water in a very dangerous area. 

Long term I don't think JE will regret it as working in a toxic environment would be bad for your health over a sustained period however I think in the immediate 6 month term he will look back and regret it and the decision be viewed as a poor career move on his part.

[Tom]

Oh so now they understand his desire to be closer to home?

[Torgeir]

5 minutes ago, Tom said:

Oh so now they understand his desire to be closer to home?

As long as they're compensated 🙂

Thanks for a good year, Eustace. Time to move on and build on the foundations set by him and his crew.

[Penwortham Blue]

8 minutes ago, Tom said:

Oh so now they understand his desire to be closer to home?

Yep, a more professional statement but note the change in narrative to it being nothing about the football club just nearer his house and used to play for them. Absolute bollocks, let’s get these vermin out of our club, Pasha / Venkys Out.

[alex l]

Curious as to why we refuse to name Derby? Can slightly understand it with the first statement if there is some confidentiality clause in contracts, but given he's gone, are they just being spiteful by not naming them? 

[BigUts]

Quite interesting to see Lesley Fields Instagram story. She is usually the first person to wish a colleague well and says she will miss them...last night's was "We win together, we lose together, we stick together.."

Maybe towing the party line but seems a peculiar one...

[cesus]

I really did rate Eustace, he will do what he does best by making them more organised. I'm intrigued to see how his does battling relegation without Sammie Szmodics.

[neophox]

19 minutes ago, cesus said:

I really did rate Eustace, he will do what he does best by making them more organised. I'm intrigued to see how his does battling relegation without Sammie Szmodics.

He's struggled here in the last 14 games for us...will be the same with that poor Derby team.

[Roverthechimp]

8 minutes ago, neophox said:

He's struggled here in the last 14 games for us...will be the same with that poor Derby team.

Think there is a pragmatic attitude from Derby and JE that relegation may happen but then promotion next season would be a demand.

Unless there is a break clause in the event of relegation then JE has secured a pay cheque for the next 3 years at a club that seems to be thinking mid to long term

Also don’t think relegation would end his career at mid to lower championship level

[...]

Good luck John sorry it didnt amount  to more.

Any other moment in time you would of been hailed a Rover. 

I know people joke about the togetherness, his short term here did leave us with that and has to be applauded unknowingly he has kick started , hopefully some serious discussion about our future.

We are Blackburn.

Now is the time.

ROVERS TIL WE DIE 🔵⚪️🌹

[CaptainBeanfart]

I think I'm in the minority here, but I'm not bothered about Eustace going. You can split his reign into three parts;

Feb-May 23/24 season: Poor. Didn't manage to improve the team at all, and the playing style was awful to watch. Without having the league top-scorer on the last day, he would have relegated us.

Aug-Dec 24/25 season: Excellent results but most games we were won with a low-block and keeping games tight and hoping to nick one. Fair enough with our squad, I guess, but these tight games usually average out over a season. As we started to see...

Dec-Feb 24/25 season: Average/poor. 11 points from 36, didn't see many signs of turning it around and dropping down the table seemed inevitable. We were still in the play-offs but only 2/3 games from being mid-table with how tight it was.

So one good period of four months out of a year in charge. Interesting that Derby thinks he can turn them around immediately when the evidence shows he probably needs time and possibly a full summer to do that. Even then, I think his style of football lends itself to a mid-table finish because it's incredibly difficult to win more tight games than you lose.

Good luck to him. He's got a 3 1/2 year deal at a club near where he wants to live. I don't think he's irreplaceable.
 

Edited February 13 by CaptainBeanfart

[Neal]

I'll understand anyone not wanting to work for our owners. I rated him but he absolutely bottled it against Burnley and it left a sour taste in my mouth since, I thought he would be the one but he was far too negative in that game. He'd been mentioning about filling up the ground every week, then we sold it out and turned out a poor performance where we simply didn't take it to them enough, got it very wrong tactically, especially in the 2nd half. Had he won that game, it would have hurt infinitely more to lose him to Derby. As it happens he leaves us with a defeat to Burnley, a lot of empty words and relegation form, which makes it easier to say goodbye. 

 

On the flip side, perhaps a managerial change will help us avoid our 2nd half of season slump and kick us on? Fingers crossed they get the right appointment. 

 

Anyway, thanks John, enjoy Derby...

 

We'll be having a party when Derby go down. 

 

 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

30 minutes ago, Roverthechimp said:

Think there is a pragmatic attitude from Derby and JE that relegation may happen but then promotion next season would be a demand.

Unless there is a break clause in the event of relegation then JE has secured a pay cheque for the next 3 years at a club that seems to be thinking mid to long term

Also don’t think relegation would end his career at mid to lower championship level

It’s a bit like when Mowbray came in here. Relegation wasn’t seen as a reason to fire him and he was given the tools to get us back up again. I would expect to see the same at Derby.

[broadsword]

15 hours ago, James84 said:

Leaving a team in the playoffs for a team in relegation battle in February just doesn’t happen. Can’t think of a manager that’s ever done that in any league ever. That is terrifying. How bad must things be behind the curtain for this to happen 

Nailed it James. 

People giving it to Eustace or even part-blaming mowbray for the 💩 we're in, it's the wrong target entirely. Fair enough Tony gave up the last few years, he just phoned it in and was very cynical. I think though that working in that job is it's own particular type of moral injury. It's impossible to get anywhere with venkys in charge, and I think in the end you just psychologically surrender to it, like Tony did. Or you safeguard your professional pride and piss off at the first half decent opportunity, like the last two have done. 

 

Giving the owners a few pass, as some fans do on social media, but laying into the managers is just crazy. It makes me think of people in America blaming immigrants for putting them out of a job and then voting for trump

[Upside Down]

38 minutes ago, CaptainBeanfart said:

I think I'm in the minority here, but I'm not bothered about Eustace going. You can split his reign into three parts;

Feb-May 23/24 season: Poor. Didn't manage to improve the team at all, and the playing style was awful to watch. Without having the league top-scorer on the last day, he would have relegated us.

Aug-Dec 24/25 season: Excellent results but most games we were won with a low-block and keeping games tight and hoping to nick one. Fair enough with our squad, I guess, but these tight games usually average out over a season. As we started to see...

Dec-Feb 24/25 season: Average/poor. 11 points from 36, didn't see many signs of turning it around and dropping down the table seemed inevitable. We were still in the play-offs but only 2/3 games from being mid-table with how tight it was.

So one good period of four months out of a year in charge. Interesting that Derby thinks he can turn them around immediately when the evidence shows he probably needs time and possibly a full summer to do that. Even then, I think his style of football lends itself to a mid-table finish because it's incredibly difficult to win more tight games than you lose.

Good luck to him. He's got a 3 1/2 year deal at a club near where he wants to live. I don't think he's irreplaceable.
 

Jesus Christ that's got to be the best name on this entire forum.

Bravo sir.

[ABRAM ROVER]

The Derby game cannot be moved from Sat 8th March now right?

[roverandout]

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11688/13307125/john-eustace-leaves-blackburn-rovers-to-become-derby-countys-new-head-coach

 

Good article by Don goodman 

[cesus]

1 hour ago, Roverthechimp said:

Think there is a pragmatic attitude from Derby and JE that relegation may happen but then promotion next season would be a demand.

Unless there is a break clause in the event of relegation then JE has secured a pay cheque for the next 3 years at a club that seems to be thinking mid to long term

Also don’t think relegation would end his career at mid to lower championship level

I can't say I know much about Derbys finances, but if they are paying half a million in compensation I'd say they are banking on getting Championship revenue not League One revenue next season.  

[Forever Blue]

3 minutes ago, cesus said:

I can't say I know much about Derbys finances, but if they are paying half a million in compensation I'd say they are banking on getting Championship revenue not League One revenue next season.  

They just sold a player and reinvested 50% of monies received on new players. We reinvest less than 10%. 
 

I can see why he’d want to go there.

 

[Admiral Nelsen]

1 hour ago, CaptainBeanfart said:

I think I'm in the minority here, but I'm not bothered about Eustace going. You can split his reign into three parts;

Feb-May 23/24 season: Poor. Didn't manage to improve the team at all, and the playing style was awful to watch. Without having the league top-scorer on the last day, he would have relegated us.

Aug-Dec 24/25 season: Excellent results but most games we were won with a low-block and keeping games tight and hoping to nick one. Fair enough with our squad, I guess, but these tight games usually average out over a season. As we started to see...

Dec-Feb 24/25 season: Average/poor. 11 points from 36, didn't see many signs of turning it around and dropping down the table seemed inevitable. We were still in the play-offs but only 2/3 games from being mid-table with how tight it was.

So one good period of four months out of a year in charge. Interesting that Derby thinks he can turn them around immediately when the evidence shows he probably needs time and possibly a full summer to do that. Even then, I think his style of football lends itself to a mid-table finish because it's incredibly difficult to win more tight games than you lose.

Good luck to him. He's got a 3 1/2 year deal at a club near where he wants to live. I don't think he's irreplaceable.
 

 

That's a valid and defendable point of view, but I think it sells his contribution well short. Especially the keeping us up part.

Agree the football was defensive (personally that doesn't bother me, but I appreciate others care more). But staying up last year was largely about the solidity he introduced. Szmodics' goals were essential too, but he was banging them in under JDT in the final months & that wasn't delivering us points. I think when JDT had got us so committed to a particular way of playing over a decent period of time, it's quite hard to 'unlearn' that overnight. So I think the fact that we were generally hard to beat is testament to the work he did, and bar the odd hiccup like Bristol City you could see a positive direction of travel. 

This season I think has been a story of us generally being good but we've buckled when the squad has been stretched. Had our form remained patchy from now til the end of the season once we managed to get some players back, then we could criticise the manager, but from the situation we're in now he gets a good grade on this season too.

I think success of managers at this level is often less about ability and more about fit. I think Eustace fitted really well with our group, and whilst you're right that he isn't irreplaceable, we were in a good place with him and even a manager with a good record won't necessarily be able to replicate what he was doing. 

Edited February 13 by Admiral Nelsen