Yeah agreed, no way Eustace would have taken 5k a week. My guess is the manager budget has been pretty much the same through Mowbray, JDT, Eustace and Ismael.

I don't think we could have got more for him at the time as he was so unproven. But if we had been able to hold onto him for another season we could have made a lot more I think.

Yeah - a lot will come down to if he gets a good start... If things kick off well with good results and good team spirit then everyone will get onboard. But if its difficult then it is very easy for the players to get the mindset that they wish Eustace was still here, they don't like Ismael, that the owners are stupid, their contracts are running down etc and mentally check out and start thinking about their next move.

As he came from Watford as his last job and Beskitas, WBA before that he does not strike me as being particularly cheap by Championship standards. Probably on more money than the majority of managers in our league.

It is a cracking literary name, you have to give him that. Best one since Shakespeare at Leicester... That said reckon Kurtz would be a better fit to the kind of delusional madness needed on our boat.

For reasons that elude even myself I have made a list of every manager who has been promoted in the last eight years. Out of 24 names I reckon only maybe 8 are at all possible, probably the more recent ones - Martin, Edwards - almost certainly too expensive, leaving us with mostly going quite far back in time to find someone with a promotion on the cv - Munoz, Bilic, Warnock, Jokanovic, Hughton, Wagner. And all of those have had very poor years at other clubs alongside when they did get a promotion.

Yeah this board has a very poor record on predicting how managers will turn out so the only really sensible thing is to see how it goes. I mean the general consensus was we were going down this season under Eustace and here we are. Edit - on the other hand no reason not to protest the owners and waggott - they need to go and are awful. But just saying it wouldn't be that surprising if Ishamel came in and did well against expectations.

What I find a bit weird is everyone is of the view Warnock will be great but hes got promoted once in the last 13 years and been bounced out of QPR, Rotherham, Boro, Huddersfield and Aberdeen. Compared to that Wagners cv looks pretty good... I am not over the moon about Wagner but I am struggling to think of who realistically we could get with a recentish promotion on their CV.

.... Wrong thread

Feels to me like they are unsure whether to appoint a manager or appoint Lowe and DJ and are playing for time to see how Swansea goes. For what it's worth I think we will beat Swansea and appoint Lowe and DJ. - Cheap - Know the club, the players, the system, the tactics - Know the clown show behind the scenes and can ignore it The situation is a bit like the transfer market. Obviously the fans want big names to come in... but often big names end up being big disappointments. Danny Murphy as a player, or Paul Lambert as a manager etc. I think it's really not obvious at all that a relatively big name like Karanka, O'Neil, Gerrard would definitely make us better. Often it blows up in your face... look at the recent records of those guys, or indeed someone like Amorim at Man Utd. So... if there was someone we are looking at and all the stars align and it's clear they will make a big positive impact over the next 13 games I am all for it. But if there are reservations about the candidates - do they really want it, will they work with the tactics and system already in place, can they handle the general nonsense about the club - I would just stick with what we have tbh. We could really shoot ourselves in the foot if we appoint someone and they are just not the right fit.

Honestly Id give it to Lowe and DJ as they know the environment and players. New manager who comes in could easily get confused and frustrated with the clown show and kick off and be a distraction.

Its a bit if a red flag that he hasnt even made a year at each of his last four clubs. More like an average of 8 months each which is mad.

O'Neil makes sense, but hes got pedigree and cut from similar cloth to Eustace. I reckon he will probably give Eustace a call to understand why he walked away and get the full inside view. Wouldnt be surprised if he just signed to the end of the season. Or given the weird situation he might decline it after talks. O'Neil will know he will get a decent Championship job eventually, he doesn't need to jump in now.

I usually would feel a lot of trepidation about a team who have just lost their manager... But Rovers have a lot of options now. If we play on the break we have the pace to hurt teams, if we have the ball we have the players to find the right pass, if we are chucking in crosses we can get on the end of them, even our set pieces are better. And on top of that we look very defensively solid. Pride before the fall etc, but feeling pretty confident.

Much as I like Buckley I can't see Forshaw being dropped after playing a good game and scoring

Full weeks rest after a solid 2-0 victory suggests probably same team.... But ACD was mediocre again and Kargbo electric - so has Kargbo played himself in? I reckon so. Maybe they can work on in training Cantwell drifting out left and Kargbo coming inside. Id much rather have Kargbo staying up for the counter than Cantwell. And on the left Cantwell will have Riberio making the overlap all day long letting him get in pockets edge of the box. Pears Brittain. Sanderson. Hyam. Riberio Travis. Forshaw Dolan. Kargbo. Cantwell Gueye

For the first time in ages he managed to hold onto it pretty well yesterday and pulled off some great passes... But i do think he needs to get forward more and be a threat. Really whoever is in the number 10 role needs a bit of pace and desire to get beyond Gueye and into the box... Looking at Kargbo against Plymouth I am wondering if thats the role for him. Him and Gueye could work really well together I think, total nightmare for defenders. Would free up Kargbo to focus on playing on the last man and combing with Gueye rather than dropping off to defend down on the left. Dennis also in the frame to play with Gueye too. And Ohashi, as well as Wieman. Where that leaves Cantwell I am not sure. But he played pretty well and we won so I imagine he keeps the shirt next week.

Hes had a few poor games but generally I think Forshaw has been decent. I was a bit surprised he came in for Buckley though who also has been playing well. Was bucko injured or something (know he came on for 10 at the end). I wonder who'll get the nod next week?

Think Id give it to Lowe and DJ now. We have looked really good, if we bring someone in they might have an adverse effect as they try and change things or impact the team spirit. Edit - I would say manager decision announced after Swansea gane just to give a bit more time to check the wheels dont come off.

To be honest for me I think we play pretty much identically as under Eustace. Whats is impressive is the focus and discipline has been maintained with no drop off.

Looking at how we are playing, the players coming back, the fixtures and frequency of games reducing significantly we really should be feeling pretty confident about playoffs. Hard to as a Rover though!!

Recruitment this year has generally been very good (Gueye, Ohashi, Wieman, Baath all performed well). Im curious given the chaos behind the scenes how thats happened. Even Forshaw who seemed a real desperate signing has worked out very well for minimal money.

Gerrard to end of the season sort of makes sense... Depends how trashed his reputation is. If he genuinely cant get a prem job then he might see it as a way to reestablish his name. Kind of risky for him if he fucks it up, but if he looks at the squad, where we are, I could see him backing himself to make a splash. From our perspective if he just came in focusing on motivating the players and not messing around with the tactics I could see it working. But all only possible if Gerrard wanted a 3.5 month deal, as if he talks about any long term plans we have nothing, and probably hes the wrong guy anyway.

Agreed - I think the Fans Forum etc should share and cite it at any meetings with the club.

Thought this article from the Guardian is about as good a dispassionate summary as you can get... anyone who asks what is going on at Rovers get them to have a look at this. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/feb/13/blackburn-rovers-venkys-blunder-goodbye-john-eustace-championship#:~:text=Questions remain over the Rovers,India with ongoing court battles. For those we know who are inclined to be sympathetic to the owners it should hopefully inject some realism and context on where we are relative to other Championship clubs.