Valérien Ismaël: Blackburn Rovers Head Coach

[DE.]

2 minutes ago, martonrover said:

That was "no manager" bounce 😉 

I really do think this could go pear shaped (sorry!) very quickly.

Another defeat on Wednesday and the die will be cast.

I felt like we were going to end up mid table even when Eustace was here. I'm even more sure of it now - maybe even lower mid-table.

If the summer is going to be as brutal as Eustace evidently believed, then yeah, we might be in for a very rough time. I think us hurtling into oblivion at the foot of the division is the only way you'll get any serious form of protest from the remaining fanbase, though. 

[simongarnerisgod]

it`s concerning that the players seem to have dropped their level since ismael arrived and not being able to really hurt  a woeful side like derby  is a massive worry,especially when they retreated to their penalty area in the 2nd half

[roversfan99]

2 hours ago, RoversClitheroe said:

Don't worry mate, if the accounts are anything Waggotts doubled his salary.

Inspiring.

Fuck the lot of them.

Ismail out for me.

Absolute yes man. 

Brittain immediately devoid of any confidence today. Tells you all you need to know.

Theres certainly been no bounce and I am far from convinced by his appointment. But come on. I know you love an overreaction and hyperbole but Ismael out and after less 2 weeks hes already a yes man? Behave.

And if one player will not be disheartened by his appointment, its Brittain under who he really improved his reputation in that excellent season they had at Barnsley.

We were in dreadful form even at the end of Eustace's reign. No matter who the manager is, this happens because of the owners and how they run the club.

I was underwhelmed by the appointment (when he was linked you was lauding his stats from wikipedia!) and have been very disappointed in the first 2 games. But lets not go overboard.

[alcd]

Looks like the players are as uninspired by this appointment as I am. He will find it difficult to reboot for next season when this one finishes as dismally as seems likely. Ismael was a poor choice as he has no track record of success other than a single season at Barnsley 4 years ago. He's been sacked in each of his last 3 head coach posts after less than 12 months. Did they all get it wrong?? Add to that, his assistant Whitehead, hasn't held a coaching position anywhere for more than 6months. Compare that to the vast experience of the previous assistant Keith Downing. Giving Ismael a three and a half year contract was crazy and clearly motivated by trying to show the owners are looking long-term when they obviously aren't. 

[davulsukur]

A really poor showing against Norwich, a lucky goal papered over the cracks. 

2-0 down after 7mins to bottom of the league, fucking woeful.

Next up, a poor Stoke side and if he gets nothing against them, he's in the shit after just 3 games.

[RoversClitheroe]

17 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

I was underwhelmed by the appointment (when he was linked you was lauding his stats from wikipedia!)

Tbf, post speaking to my Barnsley supporting mate I was fully against the appointment.

Everyone bangs on about his Barnsley season, but my mate who played a high level of football said he was shocking, just lucky due to the COVID season.

His stats post Barnsley back this

[simongarnerisgod]

there are correlations here when birminham sacked eustace and appointed rooney,the birmingham players downed tools and would`nt do anything for him,you could tell they did`nt respect him,i think it`s the same here,our players don`t appear to think much of ismael

[roversfan99]

7 minutes ago, RoversClitheroe said:

Tbf, post speaking to my Barnsley supporting mate I was fully against the appointment.

Everyone bangs on about his Barnsley season, but my mate who played a high level of football said he was shocking, just lucky due to the COVID season.

His stats post Barnsley back this

How was he lucky purely because it was COVID? What does that even mean? Why is it relevant that your mate played a high level of football? He finished 5th with Barnsley, if your friend is half as hyperbolic as you then maybe hes lost all sense of reason too because that was a huge overachievement.

His general record is underwhelming especially post that spell, but it doesnt mean that in that specific season he didnt do well.

And the stuff about him being a yes man. He has been here for less than 2 weeks so how can you have gathered that?

[RoversClitheroe]

3 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

How was he lucky purely because it was COVID? What does that even mean? Why is it relevant that your mate played a high level of football? He finished 5th with Barnsley, if your friend is half as hyperbolic as you then maybe hes lost all sense of reason too because that was a huge overachievement.

His general record is underwhelming especially post that spell, but it doesnt mean that in that specific season he didnt do well.

And the stuff about him being a yes man. He has been here for less than 2 weeks so how can you have gathered that?

In terms of the COVID seasons being a complete Red Herring.

The relevance being he understands football and could pick out a bad thing if he sees one. One of the few I've heard calling him a shit long ball merchant from a Barnsley fan.

[NeilInBristol]

3 hours ago, J*B said:

Cant afford to sack him despite him clearly being totally incapable. The Waggott way. 

All very deliberate

 

I bet their mission to him is:

Keep us in the league 

Bring through youth 

Sell youth

Don't get us relegated 

[roversfan99]

2 minutes ago, RoversClitheroe said:

In terms of the COVID seasons being a complete Red Herring.

The relevance being he understands football and could pick out a bad thing if he sees one. One of the few I've heard calling him a shit long ball merchant from a Barnsley fan.

Obviously it was abnormal in terms of around it but on the pitch it was still the same game. For us we had a particularly bad season under Mowbray, it was his bad season here but interestingly you didnt write it off as a COVID season.

They finished 5th in the Championship, that is Barnsley in the play offs. Your friend might well "have played at a decent level" but it means nothing if he thinks that (regardless of style) season was shocking. Even you wouldnt be that hyperbolic. Maybe he is bitter that he then left. 

[alcd]

3 hours ago, StHelensRover said:

We know we were teetering on the playoff edge when Eustace walked but this guy has come in and consolidated our place in championship for next season. 

He looks like he's made us worse. New manager bounce dunce. We might easily finish in the bottom half at this rate. Can't believe I bought a ticket for today and Stoke, what an idiot

Five defeats in the last six away matches and all of them with dismal performances back to front. Scarcely looked like scoring in most of them. Just four efforts on target today against the worst defence in this league. Already I've decided I won't be going to any more away matches this season. 

[Exiled_Rover]

36 minutes ago, RoversClitheroe said:

Tbf, post speaking to my Barnsley supporting mate I was fully against the appointment.

Everyone bangs on about his Barnsley season, but my mate who played a high level of football said he was shocking, just lucky due to the COVID season.

His stats post Barnsley back this

There's a full Barnsley game on Youtube from that season - against Sheffield Weds I think. They lost 2-1 and the football was absolutely dire, it was literally just about getting the ball 'in the mixer'.

[DE.]

7 minutes ago, NeilInBristol said:

All very deliberate

 

I bet their mission to him is:

Keep us in the league 

Bring through youth 

Sell youth

Don't get us relegated 

Staying in the league and cutting the budget to the absolute minimum required are the only ambitions this club has. To those in charge, a year where we stay in the league with reduced costs is a great success. 

With this mentality, it's a question of when we get relegated again, not if. By the time they've realised the cost cutting has gone too far it'll be too late, and nobody at the club will have had the foresight to prepare. 

I thought this season might be the tipping point, but Eustace far exceeded expectations. This no doubt frustrated the higher ups as he now had a legitimate reason to call for backing and a pay increase. JDT all over again. Neither were given because that doesn't fit into the model of staying in the league with increasingly less expenses, so much like JDT, off Eustace went. 

They're banking on Ismael being the guy who will keep us floating around mid-table on a minimal budget. His track record suggests for the short term he's perfect for this - although his budget at WBA and Watford was surely larger than it will be here. Barnsley was one season and may have been a fluke. They're playing a dangerous game and will eventually get burned. 

[Exiled_Rover]

19 minutes ago, NeilInBristol said:

All very deliberate

 

I bet their mission to him is:

Keep us in the league 

Bring through youth 

Sell youth

Don't get us relegated 

Good luck with the 'bringing through youth' part. 

[Upside Down]

11 minutes ago, DE. said:

Staying in the league and cutting the budget to the absolute minimum required are the only ambitions this club has. To those in charge, a year where we stay in the league with reduced costs is a great success. 

With this mentality, it's a question of when we get relegated again, not if. By the time they've realised the cost cutting has gone too far it'll be too late, and nobody at the club will have had the foresight to prepare. 

I thought this season might be the tipping point, but Eustace far exceeded expectations. This no doubt frustrated the higher ups as he now had a legitimate reason to call for backing and a pay increase. JDT all over again. Neither were given because that doesn't fit into the model of staying in the league with increasingly less expenses, so much like JDT, off Eustace went. 

They're banking on Ismael being the guy who will keep us floating around mid-table on a minimal budget. His track record suggests for the short term he's perfect for this - although his budget at WBA and Watford was surely larger than it will be here. Barnsley was one season and may have been a fluke. They're playing a dangerous game and will eventually get burned. 

They've already played that game and got burned when they appointed Coyle.

This has been their aim since day one, although the cost cutting is more severe now that they're under investigation for fraud.

The goal from the beginning was to have the club plod along in this division with a large turnover of players and cash. Easy way to make millions disappear through the club books.

[Waggy76]

14 minutes ago, Exiled_Rover said:

Good luck with the 'bringing through youth' part. 

And from what I witnessed today , staying in this Division will be very difficult next season .

It is early days but my gut feeling is this manger is a big step down from Eustace !

[Waggy76]

58 minutes ago, RoversClitheroe said:

Tbf, post speaking to my Barnsley supporting mate I was fully against the appointment.

Everyone bangs on about his Barnsley season, but my mate who played a high level of football said he was shocking, just lucky due to the COVID season.

His stats post Barnsley back this

Your mate , will probably be proved right ...

[arbitro]

I'm staggered to read that some want the manager sacking. After two games!I

And if a new manager comes in and draws and loses in his first two games what them?? Sack him too?

He wasn't responsible for Pears gifting a goal to Derby today or for Hyam and Carter not being able to deal with a simple cross.

I'm as frustrated As anyone but he simply has to be given a chance

[simongarnerisgod]

Just now, arbitro said:

I'm staggered to read that some want the manager sacking. After two games!I

And if a new manager comes in and draws and loses in his first two games what them?? Sack him too?

He wasn't responsible for Pears gifting a goal to Derby today or for Hyam and Carter not being able to deal with a simple cross.

I'm as frustrated As anyone but he simply has to be given a chance

it does`nt appear all is well in the rovers camp when we concede two simple goals after being very strong at the back all season then proceed to create almost nothing against a side that retreated into it`s own half,ismael deserves a chance but our form since he took over is very concerning

[lraC]

2 minutes ago, arbitro said:

I'm staggered to read that some want the manager sacking. After two games!I

And if a new manager comes in and draws and loses in his first two games what them?? Sack him too?

He wasn't responsible for Pears gifting a goal to Derby today or for Hyam and Carter not being able to deal with a simple cross.

I'm as frustrated As anyone but he simply has to be given a chance

I actually think it’s more than he fact that the hierarchy have let this happen, than the quality of the manager.

Its just another crazy turnover of managers, due to the failure of the club to back, those doing a decent job.

I sincerely hope we got 6 pints from the next 2 and it calms the nerves and he is given a chance, but he’s in a hiding to nothing. 

[DE.]

20 minutes ago, Upside Down said:

They've already played that game and got burned when they appointed Coyle.

Kind of, but what happened during that time is still a bit mysterious. Our budget was slashed and it was confirmed the club was having to take out emergency loans for the basic running of things around 2015 - but to my knowledge we never found out why. Then we had two auditing companies come in to assess the books - from memory, again, we never found out why two companies were needed - and it all culminated with hiring a terrible, cheap manager who doomed us. 

This time around at least there's some transparency around the budget cuts (in the sense we know about the court case, anyway), and so far at least they've steered clear of trouble for longer than back then - but it still feels like a matter of time until it all implodes. Ismael isn't Coyle-level bad in terms of an appointment, but he may find himself in big trouble next season all the same. 

Edited 17 hours ago by DE.

[Waggy76]

1 minute ago, lraC said:

I actually think it’s more than he fact that the hierarchy have let this happen, than the quality of the manager.

Its just another crazy turnover of managers, due to the failure of the club to back, those doing a decent job.

I sincerely hope we got 6 pints from the next 2 and it calms the nerves and he is given a chance, but he’s in a hiding to nothing. 

Correct ,this situation staged managed by Waggott and his sidekick , to deflect the blame from THEM ..

[martonrover]

7 minutes ago, arbitro said:

I'm staggered to read that some want the manager sacking. After two games!I

And if a new manager comes in and draws and loses in his first two games what them?? Sack him too?

He wasn't responsible for Pears gifting a goal to Derby today or for Hyam and Carter not being able to deal with a simple cross.

I'm as frustrated As anyone but he simply has to be given a chance

Whether we like it or not, a 3 + year contract will ensure he gets every chance.

I just fear he may be the catalyst to hasten our demise.

[arbitro]

1 minute ago, simongarnerisgod said:

it does`nt appear all is well in the rovers camp when we concede two simple goals after being very strong at the back all season then proceed to create almost nothing against a side that retreated into it`s own half,ismael deserves a chance but our form since he took over is very concerning

We got a deserved draw against a decent Norwich team last week. Today we were poor.

We had a spell when on that winning run and didn't concede many but take those six games out and we have conceded. Today was the twelfth game this season when we have conceded two or more goals, many of which have been poor.