Bryan Douglas was a better player. All respect to Damien.
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NEXT GAME:Leicester City FC
Saturday 4th May 2024
Kick off 12.30 pm
Kingpower Stadium
Championship
John Eustace
- Thread starter goozburger.
- Start date
goozburger.
Senior Member
Eustace only had a few hours with the coaches on Friday. It was good to see that he got involved in some important tweaks rather than just leaving things as they were and watching it unfold.
Seems as though we will be seeing a mixture of simpler football and getting a dressing room spirit going. He alluded to the latter a few times in his first interview for the club, so I think he knows that the dressing room atmosphere is a problem at the moment.
I'd say he's navigated the first hurdle very well and with so little time to do so.
Seems as though we will be seeing a mixture of simpler football and getting a dressing room spirit going. He alluded to the latter a few times in his first interview for the club, so I think he knows that the dressing room atmosphere is a problem at the moment.
I'd say he's navigated the first hurdle very well and with so little time to do so.
blueandwhitehalves
Senior Member
I think it’s a good appointment. Spent 2001-2015 playing in the Championship so will know it very well from that perspective.
Was unlucky not to promote Kidderminster, getting them in the National League South play-offs twice. Obviously Birmingham was a massive step up and he struggled in his first season. But their good start to this season suggests he’s improving which is what you’d expect from a young manager.
I’m glad the word “journey” didn’t get mentioned by him, sick of hearing that word. We’re a small Championship club with a small wage bill, which is only not very small depending on our owners generosity. Making out we’re going somewhere, which fans seem to take as there being a master plan for promotion, is unrealistic and unhelpful.
Getting the most out of the players, and giving his input to try and get the right signings and loans in. That’s Eustace’s only job, that’s all he can control. If that amounts to mid-table for the foreseeable future then he’ll have done a good job.
Was unlucky not to promote Kidderminster, getting them in the National League South play-offs twice. Obviously Birmingham was a massive step up and he struggled in his first season. But their good start to this season suggests he’s improving which is what you’d expect from a young manager.
I’m glad the word “journey” didn’t get mentioned by him, sick of hearing that word. We’re a small Championship club with a small wage bill, which is only not very small depending on our owners generosity. Making out we’re going somewhere, which fans seem to take as there being a master plan for promotion, is unrealistic and unhelpful.
Getting the most out of the players, and giving his input to try and get the right signings and loans in. That’s Eustace’s only job, that’s all he can control. If that amounts to mid-table for the foreseeable future then he’ll have done a good job.
Continuing to make BRFC the safety net of choice for big club drop outs and in doing so getting the most out of the Academy. The work of the Academy is absolutely key for our future.
blueandwhitehalves
Senior Member
I agree, but I do also think there's only so much an academy can do.
I think the end of JDT's reign showed how poor a team can become when it's mostly young players. Losing the experience of Kaminski, Brereton (still young, but 7 Championship seasons under his belt), Ayala and Dack (not regular starters but having that experience in the dressing room).
Then once Hyam, Hedges and Gallagher got injured, we were left with a situation of Szmodics and Tronstad being our only players older than mid-20s. Ones a striker (not a great position for leadership/captaincy IMO) and the other is in his first season in English football.
So I agree the academy can supplement the team and hopefully pay for itself with sales like Wharton. But it can never be the whole first team, we'll always need a decent number of players in their late 20s/early 30s IMO.
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Robin
Senior Member
It’s then you need to have a plan B. It was clearly that the three man defence and the tactics did not work out when the injuries started the pile up. Everyone could see that except a very very stubborn manager.
It was his way or the highway and I’m sure the players did not appreciate to be beaten easily game after game because of this.
goozburger.
Senior Member
Eustace will be unveiled to the media at 2.30pm. Is there any way to listen to it live?
goozburger.
Senior Member
Eustace: "I've been told to come in and enjoy managing the group."
Sound advice. It's what these players need.
Sound advice. It's what these players need.
goozburger.
Senior Member
Eustace states he has a no excuse culture. Injuries. Suspensions. Players that can't be signed. That's football and you just have to get on with it.
I bet Tomasson started to grow a reputation within the club and the wider game as a whinger and a moaner. There seems to be no love lost.
I bet Tomasson started to grow a reputation within the club and the wider game as a whinger and a moaner. There seems to be no love lost.
steve w
Senior Member
Was I on a different planet? Up until our recent bad run ( a run as bad as the TWO Mowbray survived) he was doing pretty well from where I was watching!!
If you are given a job and promised certain things that don't transpire- you get pissed off - its a universal accepted law of having a moan - why is football treated different?
goozburger.
Senior Member
I think it is a case of, when shit happens, how do you deal with it? I sympathise with Tomasson to a degree, but he handled it poorly in my opinion, and it further harmed us on the pitch this season.
Anyone can feel frustrated when things that are planned don't happen. To do it so publicly was unprofessional in my view. I really do think other clubs will think twice before employing him because he'll be seen as causing grief for his superiors when things didn't pan out as expected.
That said, our first season under him was great. I hope Eustace takes a lot of that work and evolves it (which he said he'd do), but mix it with some Championship rough and tumble. Hopefully the Stoke City game will be a microcosm of what to expect.
Anyone can feel frustrated when things that are planned don't happen. To do it so publicly was unprofessional in my view. I really do think other clubs will think twice before employing him because he'll be seen as causing grief for his superiors when things didn't pan out as expected.
That said, our first season under him was great. I hope Eustace takes a lot of that work and evolves it (which he said he'd do), but mix it with some Championship rough and tumble. Hopefully the Stoke City game will be a microcosm of what to expect.
Or if you have owt about you you piss off! I do accept that there isn't much room for principles in football these days unless perhaps you are Jurgen Klopp. (And I expect the German job will be coming his way before too long.)
Our first season JDT benefitted greatly from Mowbray's legacy. I think how we go on from here will define his record. I suspect there will be a notable dip in the seasons graph from End Oct to first week Feb and if there is it'll display him in a very poor light. If that turns out to be the case I have to point out that I won't fully know what caused it.
blueandwhitehalves
Senior Member
Well christ we were diabolical tonight. Very early days obviously but I do worry that we might end up in a situation where we've sacked (or as good as) Mowbray and ended up with someone worse in JDT, then sacked JDT and ended up with someone worse in Eustace.
Just shows the value of not getting bored with a manager, not thinking the grass is always greener on the other side, and showing some loyalty to the guy already in post.
But yeah early days, just hope it gets better quickly as that could been 5-0 tonight and that would be nauseating against Nob End.
Just shows the value of not getting bored with a manager, not thinking the grass is always greener on the other side, and showing some loyalty to the guy already in post.
But yeah early days, just hope it gets better quickly as that could been 5-0 tonight and that would be nauseating against Nob End.
Well it's early days for eustace and far too early to comment but I see a similarity with sacking Bowyer and replacing him with Lambert and Coyle alias Dumb and Dumber.
blueandwhitehalves
Senior Member
Bowyer took 17 points from 16 games the season he was sacked (1.06 points per game) Lambert then took 38 points from the remaining 30 games (1.27 points per game). Not much better, and certainly not as good as we hoped, but he was better than Bowyer with the same players.
Bowyer was better the previous 2 seasons when he had our parachute payments advantage over most of the rest of the league.
But yeah I think you should never change your manager unless things are terrible. If things are bad, give him time to fix it. We lost Mowbray because Venkys refused to offer him a proper contract after we finished 15th. And then we sacked JDT with us 18th.
Those are salvageable situations. Mowbray did turn it round, but Venkys had already soured the relationship by then (and the usual OTT moaning fan reaction to that final home game vs Bournemouth probably put the nail in the coffin), maybe JDT could have turned it around too.
goozburger.
Senior Member
Eustace deserves time provided he sees us safe this season, which I'd expect him to do. I'm expecting defeat today because we are in somewhat of a situation of sorting out how we need to play between now and the rest of the season, but let's not kid ourselves that we'd be going into a Tuesday night away game or a local away game brimming with confidence under a Head Coach that was clearly incapable of motivating the players.
All due respect, Dunny, it might be worth stepping back and reminding ourselves of a few things before writing Eustace off based on Tuesday's performance.
Eustace has walked into a toxic situation, both above him, and below him. He cannot do anything about the situation above him, particularly between now and the end of the season, so while many elsewhere have labelled him a "yes man", I think he is absolutely right to shut all of that out of the dressing room, as he's stated a few times, and focus on getting the players motivated and playing to their strengths. After all, isn't that the main remit of a Head Coach, and something that Tomasson actually failed at this season?
The noises coming from the players about our style of play and the dressing room atmosphere under Tomasson are far from positive. To my knowledge, not one individual from the squad has come out and acknowledged their former gaffer. Does that not tell you how poorly Tomasson managed the larger situation, and how Eustace at least has the right intentions with both of those aspects?
Rovers simply cannot have a situation where the Head Coach is at loggerheads with everybody else above him. It does not work. For anyone. Including supporters. I would certainly like owners and a Board that is more fluid with those below them, but that's not going to change any time soon. I'm all for a Head Coach pressuring his superiors to improve matters, but having somebody conveying that message publicly, particularly in the way he did it, just adds to the toxicity. It does nobody any good, and while Tomasson may be right, he is culpable in creating an unruly atmosphere and an unhappy dressing room, particularly when he essentially bemoaned the quality of his playing staff at every opportunity.
We will have to see how Eustace pans out, but to give him one game (and let's not discount his effect on the Stoke City game) seems like a knee-jerk reaction. The performance on Tuesday night was poor to say the least, but I'd like to think he's shown enough in his previous jobs to warrant a fair trial. One game is not a fair trial.
All due respect, Dunny, it might be worth stepping back and reminding ourselves of a few things before writing Eustace off based on Tuesday's performance.
Eustace has walked into a toxic situation, both above him, and below him. He cannot do anything about the situation above him, particularly between now and the end of the season, so while many elsewhere have labelled him a "yes man", I think he is absolutely right to shut all of that out of the dressing room, as he's stated a few times, and focus on getting the players motivated and playing to their strengths. After all, isn't that the main remit of a Head Coach, and something that Tomasson actually failed at this season?
The noises coming from the players about our style of play and the dressing room atmosphere under Tomasson are far from positive. To my knowledge, not one individual from the squad has come out and acknowledged their former gaffer. Does that not tell you how poorly Tomasson managed the larger situation, and how Eustace at least has the right intentions with both of those aspects?
Rovers simply cannot have a situation where the Head Coach is at loggerheads with everybody else above him. It does not work. For anyone. Including supporters. I would certainly like owners and a Board that is more fluid with those below them, but that's not going to change any time soon. I'm all for a Head Coach pressuring his superiors to improve matters, but having somebody conveying that message publicly, particularly in the way he did it, just adds to the toxicity. It does nobody any good, and while Tomasson may be right, he is culpable in creating an unruly atmosphere and an unhappy dressing room, particularly when he essentially bemoaned the quality of his playing staff at every opportunity.
We will have to see how Eustace pans out, but to give him one game (and let's not discount his effect on the Stoke City game) seems like a knee-jerk reaction. The performance on Tuesday night was poor to say the least, but I'd like to think he's shown enough in his previous jobs to warrant a fair trial. One game is not a fair trial.
Indeeed so gooz, Mark Hughes won his first match and lost his second with two 0-4 losses in the next 3 games.