Mad dog waiting to ravage Darrell

Harsh, but fair opinions there BR.

Everyone wants DC to do well and we'll all get behind him , but a fair few (me included) are really worried.

Let's hope he succeeds, because we are on the edge as a club if he doesn't.

COME ON ROVERS!!!

5 players short of a squad more than capable of doing well.Thats how I would assess the current situation.The problem is that all or most of the recruitment needs to come in the creative department plus one striker to replace Harrold. Two wingers,one central midfielder,one striker and a central defender, if the recruitment is right then we will have nothing to fear other than history of teams going straight back up. We have three weeks to put this right and if we do that then we should be heading in the right direction and might actually keep a Manager for the season!!

Harley. Accept your points but I think you'll find from previous posts I've put the boot in just about as much as I can over the shoddy, blinkered running of our club.
I've chosen this topic from speaking to people in the know I understand DC is getting frustrated at the amount of rejections he has had. Well, if he's going to follow this policy of one-year contracts and reward payments then he's going to have to put up with that I'm afraid. There are a lot of clubs around at this level prepared to spend a lot of money. What Rovers really need is to bring on youngsters and develop their academy structure and bringing players through to the first team, but that isn't going to get you back into the Football League I fear. It should have been done a long time ago rather than investing in journeymen. For all that was said of Ward at least with Lockyer, Harrison and Clark he started the ball rolling. Unfortunately losing our league status came at just the wrong time.

I get what you've said in this post. I agree with you on how it's should of been done a long time ago what DC is doing etc and that he shouldn't complain about not getting targets if he is narrowing down the options himself (he's right to do so, however), but your blog hasn't echoed what you've wrote in this post. Instead, it looks like an attack on Clarke in which you've said he should have been blamed more by relegation and that if results don't go our way early then frustrated fans will have just reason to call for Clarke's head. Quite why Martin Allen needs to be mentioned at all in a blog discussing DC's transfer policy boggles me.

a. I'm not saying they will be right to call for Clarke's head. I'm saying some will.
b. At no time did I say he should be blamed for relegation - I just said he escaped any blame - which he did.
c. Martin Allen is referred to because he has often been touted as possible Rovers coach . His presence in an opposition dugout will, rightly or wrongly, polarise opinion on Clarke if we don't hit the ground running.

A)It reads as an endorsement to do so, atleast to me. Sorry if i've misread that or indeed, read between the lines.

B) "LAST SEASON may have seemed like a baptism of fire for Darrell Clarke but to my mind he was let off lightly."

Did he escape any blame? I disagree with that. There are many a fan who feel he should have got us enough points. He even blames himself.

C) As the founding member and treasurer of the "Get Martin Allen to Bristol Rovers" fanclub, I don't need to know about his merits. Do I think he'd be a better manager than Clarke is at this time? Yeah. Probably quite a few at Conference level would be. Does it make any sense to compare the Clarke to another manager, with completely different circumstances at clubs at this level? No. Does MadDog have to be Manager, Coach, Scout, Fitness Coach & Ball boy at Barnet? No. Does Clarke have the budget to sign one of the leagues proven top goalscorers? Nope.

I feel you're going to say that you aren't saying they should be polarised. But you definately know you're atleast implying it.

There is a certain amount of naievety about the way that Darrell Clarke conducts himself which comes down to a lack of experience rather than a general lack of aptitude to do the job. Martin Allen on the other hand is a wisened experienced manager who knows how to play the press, to self promote and say the right thing at the right time.

It is true that Gillingham did play us off the park that day but interestingly Martin Allen has moved on once again and so we must assume that he couldnt consistently come up with the goods. Now he finds himself managing a club at our newly lowered level and so I wonder why people think things would indeed have turned out differently had he indeed been appointed when he touted for the job.

I for one dont want a manager who is just adding our name to a long list of clubs that he has managed. I would rather have a manager who is desperate to succeed and wants to put Bristol Rovers back where we supporters believe we belong. I accept that he will make mistakes with the press and perhaps at times be a little too honest but experience will change that very quickly.

Time will tell whether Darrell is the man to take us forward but certainly Martin Allen is not

The players aren't the only ones they try and bully or manipulate. His comment about Nick Higgs may be true but it would be interesting to know why Higgs did not return his call. Football officials and Board members generally ( and I am not just talking about Rovers ) cant compete with the ability that certain managers have to manipulate the press by selectively leaking  tales to enhance their own reputation and standing with the fans. It eventually rebounds on them however 

Nail on the head, Phillistine. Lots of younger Rovers fans revere Bobby Gould but he was an arch manipulator in this respect. You look at his record with the clubs he managed, plus Wales, and you'll find it's pretty poor, but boy could he talk a good game and get the media on his side.