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Post by warehamgas on May 5, 2024 20:38:32 GMT
Does anybody seriously still take any notice of what SwissGas posts, he's been forecasting our demise for years, probably ever since he left the Board, but we're still surviving. Posters keep suggesting that the loan for the stand was used to pay for day to day running costs but is there any real proof that was the case or is it another forum fact with zero proof? Don’t be daft Topper. I get it that you perhaps don’t like him but Swiss hasn’t been ‘forecasting our demise for years’. He has warned that Wael didn’t really have the business expertise to run a football club and didn’t listen to those experts who he did employ for a short time and made poor business decisions which left us in that perilous position last year. And let’s be fair, he’s not saying anything that many, many posters haven’t been saying over the past year about the lack of football knowledge of our new owners. He’s been saying the same. I hope the birds aren’t coming home to roost! I don’t particularly like the message but I won’t blame the messenger. I’m sure Swiss doesn’t need me to speak for him but I think he’s been banned from here so he can’t really reply. Can he? I obviously don’t know why he was banned and I don’t need to know. I hope it wasn’t for questioning some of Wael’s decisions. Because after 8 years it’s hard to see the legacy of that time apart from the year on year growth in overspending and debt. And of course the training gro7nd for balance! UTG!
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Post by warehamgas on May 3, 2024 21:46:53 GMT
Hope I'm proved wrong but I have no co fidence in MT, and I still belive co.e August none of us will.be excited by any of his prospective signings. I just have a really bad feeling! I have a bad feeling when I go to the dentist or the hospital not about us. Whatever will be will be. With us most close seasons are about hoping the manager gets it right. No difference now. We’ve just had two decent seasons consolidating our place in League 1 which has been as good as it gets this century. So I’m pretty upbeat. Some players upped sticks and more or less gave up in February so it’s been a tough time for fans and MT. He’s come through a hard time and has got rid of some of those players who didn’t want to be here. Now we start again. Have a good summer ‘73. 😀 UTG!
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Post by warehamgas on May 3, 2024 21:20:37 GMT
Mixed message isn’t it, reduced budget whilst almost matching our transfer fee record a few months ago Or alternatively, looking to use the budget we have better than we have in the past perhaps? Signings more focused on players who will definitely play and make a difference. Less waste perhaps. Or even buy strikers? 😉 UTG!
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Post by warehamgas on May 3, 2024 16:19:54 GMT
And we’re off…..will he? Won’t he? I think the jury’s out for me as to whether he’s championship class, that’s a tough division. We are a selling club of course our better players are going to go, usually sooner than later, gone past caring now. Football has no loyalty anymore, Harold J Geoff Bradford etc it’s wam bam and thank you on instagram as they go off holding a cashier cheque aloft, bye gasheads thanks for the memories, next minute holding aloft the new shirt with the manager and chairman by their side. One thing I’m sure is the players coming in need to be hungry and proud to play for us not more mercenaries or un tried youth players. Totally unfair to compare 1950’s players with today’s players in my opinion. The world has changed beyond recognition since then. Whatever happens I will wish Antony all the best in his future, I’d like to think we get a large sum for him but somehow can’t see us getting as much as hoped, it’s how we roll. And of course the 50s also had the maximum wage so it didn’t really pay people to move around. You wouldn’t get any more playing in Division 1 than you may in Division 3 South. I’m sure some did but no real incentive then to move. UTG! edit: sorry ash….you beat me to it.
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Post by warehamgas on May 1, 2024 19:19:34 GMT
You could be right but alongside better players than he’s had this season…… Whatever, I’m sure GF will be aware as would MT. Not that it’s important or relevant but 10 years ago we signed a FGR player, similar position, who couldn’t get in their National League side and that didn’t go too badly! UTG! There is a player in Charlie McCann if someone can unlock his potential. In hindsight he made a poor career choice moving to FGR, but he does have ability. Came through the ranks at Manchester United before moving to Rangers for a fee that could have risen to about £800k and then won their academy player of the year award. I agree. Something was seriously wrong with FGR for two years. Vince made some horrendous managerial decisions which make Wael look good! And their form fell off a cliff for one season and 45 games. But there will be some decent players there who, with better players around them, could do a very good job for us. From your experience pirate what forwards are realistic targets for us this summer? Presuming Chris M stays which looks likely now. UTG!
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Post by warehamgas on May 1, 2024 19:11:41 GMT
Exeter supporters are commenting on the loss of "two of their own". Both players are seen as really great lads who were given their start by "Matty". They are both regarded as solid team players. Interestingly, there are frequent comments from ECFC supporters about how they would welcome Jevani Brown back. The most striking comment appeared in a player thread. It might be worth pondering for some posters. Do you really think that Matt Taylor is the sort of manager who is "happy to be bumbling along in mid table" ? Quite clearly you were completely blind to his highly competitive nature as both a player and manager whilst with us ! Thanks Sir Trevor. It’s good to have a different pov compared to the meltdown going on in the retained thread. It’s not exactly embarrassing but enough to make you shake your head and wonder about people!! Not that I particularly worry about what other clubs think but they must think that we’re a self-entitled lot when I never thought we were. But I don’t think GC defines BRFC fans! 👍 UTG!
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Post by warehamgas on May 1, 2024 19:05:25 GMT
Kevin Phillips I think will be a decent manager, not sure why Hartlepool dont want to keep him though Yes, a strange one. From talking to a Hartlepool fan there were some things happening behind the scenes. The owner still hasn’t sold the club after being on the market for a year or so. Might have something to do with it. UTG!
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Post by warehamgas on May 1, 2024 18:55:05 GMT
Yes good call. Depends on his recovery from his bad injury. But his record this season might mean he’s recovered ok. He has been decent in an awful team. Was a class player the season we both went up. UTG! 2 years of injuries,League 2 striker at best, great guy though , good family who own a boxing gym in Essex ! The player who'd do a job for us currently at FGR Is Kyle McCallister , under contract but has already told the club he wants out . You could be right but alongside better players than he’s had this season…… Whatever, I’m sure GF will be aware as would MT. Not that it’s important or relevant but 10 years ago we signed a FGR player, similar position, who couldn’t get in their National League side and that didn’t go too badly! UTG!
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Post by warehamgas on May 1, 2024 17:10:45 GMT
Would Matty Stevens be a good squad option up front. Released from FGR. Yes good call. Depends on his recovery from his bad injury. But his record this season might mean he’s recovered ok. He has been decent in an awful team. Was a class player the season we both went up. UTG!
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Post by warehamgas on Apr 30, 2024 20:40:31 GMT
The prospect of a MT squad overhaul terrifies me. He made a complete pig’s ear of Rotherham’s squad last summer, signing a load of over-the-hill crocks. He is blamed by many for Rotherham’s shocking season. I also vividly remember his speech to the Rovers players when he arrived about how good the squad was and that’s why he took the job etc. Does this guy know a decent player when he sees one? I’m not convinced. People keep saying this. If true let’s hope MT learned like Gerry F learnt from his Exeter experience. Past failure doesn’t always predict future success. UTG! edit: sorry lastminutewinner. You beat me to it. Memo to self don’t quote people after 4/5 hours because someone else would have already done it. 👍
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Post by warehamgas on Apr 29, 2024 14:10:06 GMT
Yes supergas I don’t agree that he failed but he should have won more, but he came up against a better team and a better manager. And at key times was out- witted by Guardiola. Mind you Man U would do anything for Liverpool’s record!
UTG!
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Post by warehamgas on Apr 29, 2024 12:38:20 GMT
I’ll stick with Man City because I think they’ve the best team. KdB seems to have raised his incredible ability a further notch, Phil F the same. Although I’d like Arsenal to win it. Liverpool dropped points and lost intensity just at the wrong moment. I’m not sure I’d agree with supergas about Klopp being a failure there but he certainly chose the wrong time to announce his departure. He became the story rather than the club's race for the title. Any other time they’d have won a title or two more but Man City always just that bit better.
For English football it’s better to share honours around so I’d like Arsenal to do it but you’ve got to admire Man City and how they go up a level at the right time.
UTG!
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Post by warehamgas on Apr 29, 2024 8:22:25 GMT
Snake really screwed his career when he left us. He could have gone down as a gas legend. Not a legend but not far short. Arrived at the lowest point in our history as a winger who couldn’t get a game in the conference for FGR. Scored the goals which played a huge part in getting our status back as a league club (we may not exist now if we’d stayed non-league). Then scored loads more to get our back into league one before leaving which made us £300k profit. Slightly tarnished by playing for City but he hasn’t killed anyone or done anything to warrant the abuse he gets from some of our fans. Spot on eric. The big picture eh? UTG!
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Post by warehamgas on Apr 28, 2024 21:14:40 GMT
What's this "steal a living" nonsense, do you really think Ward and LM want to spend all their time in the treatment room rather than playing? How many of us would have happily gone though what Rossiter must have gone through over the last 18 months and come out the other side? I'm not sure if you really believe what your posting or are just on a wind up. As far as the playing budget is concerned the owners have already made it clear MT will have around a mid table budget as they have no intention of giving him a top 6 challenging budget until the Mem etc has been redeveloped. Injured players have a degree of sympathy and empathy from me as of course no one wants to be broken in some way. But as a club we cannot keep on signing players that can't manage full seasons. It's bonkers recruitment and 2 of the 3 mentioned haven't played full seasons in their whole career, so what's the point in taking them?The only thing it guarantees you is a treatment room full of players which you still have to pay for and it does nothing for a settled team. I presume the powers that be think it will be different with them or medical advice say they are ok now or the club just gambles and hope they’ll be ok. As you’ve said, Billy B was the only one I can think of that’s come good. Very good. I agree with you that it shouldn’t continue. UTG!
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Post by warehamgas on Apr 28, 2024 21:02:17 GMT
I loved DCs time with us (or most of it.) But I also remember the awful lows times at which DC faced awful abuse, booing and other bad stuff. Far worse than what MT has faced so why wouldn’t we give MT a chance without harking back to DC. We gave time to DC and he came through with his own team and now he is seen like some kind of Messiah(probably by the very same people who abused him in 2014). No guarantees but MT has to be given that time to recruit the players he needs. Good luck to him. UTG! Like at Rotherham where he signed a bunch of crocks and experienced players who contributed little (where have we heard that before?), broke the club transfer record twice in one window and somehow managed to make things worse with 1.00 PPM in 22/23 to 0.69 for 23/24 when he was sacked. Yes pirate I know your views on MT and you’ve made it clear that you’d sack him. 😉 But he is the current manager. I’d say it was very unlikely that he will get sacked at this point in time so what do you do? Get rid of him and push all the preparation for next season about 4 weeks into the future whilst a new manager is found. Making next season more difficult than it will already be. Or….. We could leave him in post but not support him in the summer and let him limp through the Autumn before inevitably leaving around the end of October with us in the relegation zone. Or…… Let him carry on with the plans that will probably be in place already with George F and others to build a squad that will be more suited to his style of play in the hope that the chemistry of the players signed works better than this seasons. Are there any other options? Seriously. As to ‘signing a bunch of crocks’ I completely agree. No one would do that would they? Except a few BRFC managers over the years culminating in this years squad! Given the crocks we’ve had this year what % of the sizeable budget did they take up? 20% 30%? On that basis we can probably manage the lower budget this coming season if spent sensibly.😉 Given that the owners appear to have set a budget that most seem to think is lower than before (though how anyone knows for certain I’m not sure) I doubt we’ll be breaking our transfer record. Certainly not twice as you say Rotherham did. So it’s unlikely you’ll need to worry about that. Albeit the Conteh fee seems to have been over or very near to our previous record. And of course using the argument that any previous failure as manager sets a limit on future achievement as a manager is not right is it? Using that argument we'd never have appointed Gerry F after his failure at Exeter. And of course you may turn out to be right and that you can come back in October or November and say ‘I told you so….’ (I’m sure you wouldn't 😉). Just as those who have put forward and supported previous managers who got sacked after disastrous records as manager got it wrong, BG for example, there are no guarantees. We just hope that he recruits well, sets up the team to play decent football with players who have pace and strength where it’s needed and who gel as a team. Good luck to him. As a fan of BRFC I hope he does well. To wish him anything else would be strange for anyone who supports us. Wouldn’t it? UTG!
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Post by warehamgas on Apr 28, 2024 18:14:43 GMT
I loved DCs time with us (or most of it.) But I also remember the awful lows times at which DC faced awful abuse, booing and other bad stuff. Far worse than what MT has faced so why wouldn’t we give MT a chance without harking back to DC. We gave time to DC and he came through with his own team and now he is seen like some kind of Messiah(probably by the very same people who abused him in 2014). No guarantees but MT has to be given that time to recruit the players he needs. Good luck to him.
UTG!
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Post by warehamgas on Apr 28, 2024 16:41:46 GMT
Yes. I’d say we do but the lack of strikers means we are such an unbalanced side. The pressure our keepers and defence have been under this season has been because the game is usually played in our half and we are usually under pressure. No strikers can hold the ball up and bring others into the game. Martin has no support. The spine….I think Ward has done ok in goal. Of course mistakes have been made but he'll get better. Decent I think. Taylor is certainly a very good Ch who has suffered with the changes in defence continually all season. I think we’re a better team for having him. Wilson, Baggott and Crama and even Wilson are decent though I get your point about injuries. In the centre of midfield Grant Ward, Evans, Conteh and possibly Rossiter are good. Then it stops, nothing else. So yes we have a decent spine but the lack of strikers combined with the poor injury record of too many players has really affected us. And of course no real pace apart from Luke Thomas has made us a poorer side. And we are, as you’ve implied, very weak in the FB positions. I hope MT will decide on the system we play and give Taylor a consistent CH a partner or partners. UTG! This is the problem that Barton hoodwinked many into believing.... He'll be a good player if.... Once we get him fit.. If he can have a good preseason... If he can reverse a career problem of ill discipline.. If he has more experience around him... If if if... add infinite any other excuse you want to put there. We don't need players with a history of persistent injury problems who on paper should be excellent. How long have we done that for? Has it ever worked? Once with Bodin and we're still dining out on that years later. Ian Atkins refused to sign anyone who hadn't played 35 games a year for 3 years. His team and the team that Trolls took over had very little injuries for that whole duration. Wilson has averaged 25 games a year for the whole of his career, Hunt the same, Ward the same, Rossiter the same, Finley the same, I could go on. We need an experienced number 1 who can bring Jed on. I like Ward, but he needs a season at this level as No2. Wilson, Baggott and Crama have had enough auditions this year and they aren't the answer. Ward LMc and Rossiter can't play a season, get rid. Evans, it's clear his heart isn't here and longs for the days of the Scouse mafia, get rid. None of the above are spine players, they are weak, not good enough or not durable enough. Now you are beginning to rant 1981! Where have I mentioned half the players you have? I don’t think JB “hoodwinked“ people on here any more than some other managers. He certainly didn’t “hoodwink” me! I thought some of the signings were good but have said consistently this season that we stopped at signing strikers or players with pace which in the end certainly stopped us challenging. At the start of the season I predicted us finishing 11th, we’re 15th so not a hundred miles away…mid table. And if you read my post again I did mention the injury situation so am aware of it. I’ve just checked my post and I didn’t use the word “if” once. But football is a game of fine margins and those fine margins may be the striker we didn’t get and the letting in the very late goal at Pompey first game. You don't think that we have a strong spine that’s fine, it’s a forum with lots of opinions and on this you obviously disagree. No problem. UTG!
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Post by warehamgas on Apr 28, 2024 16:19:29 GMT
Thanks again Russ for your time given and for a great competition. I feel a bit embarrassed because we all play to the same fixtures and both you and Rodders beat me comfortably. Well done to both of you.👏👏👏 And to Sir Trevor well done and I’m glad you won the attendance league.👏👏👏 UTG! Will you be doing an open top bus tour in Wareham to celebrate with your fans ? Bus in Wareham?….which planet you on? 😀 tbf We do use our bus passes to go to Poole. OMG I must be old!! UTG!
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Post by warehamgas on Apr 28, 2024 10:40:15 GMT
Yes, I said something similar recently that JB and Wael had raised the fans’ expectations about a challenge for the Championship when in reality when push came to shove we haven’t quite pushed on. By that I mean we have a decent spine to the team but again when it came to getting strikers and players with real pace into the team we didn’t complete the recruitment. No balance. No real problem with the recruitment last summer save for the fact we didn’t get any strikers, like 2020 and we’ve paid the price, although not so severe as 2021. And that’s been the strange part of this season. Compared to much of this century we’ve done ok yet there is a real negativity around the place and I think the fanbase expects to be challenging when in reality, as you say we are some way off. But football’s a funny game and decent recruitment this summer and keep the best of what we’ve got annd get strikers and we could challenge. If the owners want to that is. UTG! Do we have a decent spine though Wareham? A kid in goal, no centre halves have stood out as being proper pros on or off the pitch and leading by example midfield lightweight, little pace on the wings and 1 striker who knows where the net is but is 35. Thomas, Sinclair, Martin, Connor Taylor, are the only ones I'd keep from the Scouse invasion. I'd even sell Evan and even then those 5 don't constitute a "spine" Yes. I’d say we do but the lack of strikers means we are such an unbalanced side. The pressure our keepers and defence have been under this season has been because the game is usually played in our half and we are usually under pressure. No strikers can hold the ball up and bring others into the game. Martin has no support. The spine….I think Ward has done ok in goal. Of course mistakes have been made but he'll get better. Decent I think. Taylor is certainly a very good Ch who has suffered with the changes in defence continually all season. I think we’re a better team for having him. Wilson, Baggott and Crama and even Wilson are decent though I get your point about injuries. In the centre of midfield Grant Ward, Evans, Conteh and possibly Rossiter are good. Then it stops, nothing else. So yes we have a decent spine but the lack of strikers combined with the poor injury record of too many players has really affected us. And of course no real pace apart from Luke Thomas has made us a poorer side. And we are, as you’ve implied, very weak in the FB positions. I hope MT will decide on the system we play and give Taylor a consistent CH a partner or partners. UTG!
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Post by warehamgas on Apr 28, 2024 10:15:57 GMT
You posted that article previously. All you need to do is replace "Rotherham" with "Bristol Rovers" and the article could have been written about us. One of the biggest issues that I see is not about the owners, not about the players. It is the fans. All of a sudden our fan base is demanding success that we have only had three times in our history and they seem to view anything else unacceptable. These same fans also say, it's too expensive to follow Rovers. They are also the ones saying, that's it I'm not going any more. They are also saying Premiership football fans are "plastics" all the while sneering at teams for "buying success". Maybe Buckle was right, we are a league one club. We do not have wealthy owners who will buy the league, we have to do it the hard way. We have lots in common with Rotherham, maybe we should be focus more on how they seem to get success with similar attendances to ours. The fans are demanding more because it’s what we’ve been promised by the previous majority owner and the previous manager. Anyone with a half functioning brain that has an iota of football knowledge could see the club was nowhere near ready for a tilt at the top 6, yet the previous manager and the previous majority owner kept on banging away about having a go at it and getting the club to the championship. We’ve now got the new majority owner who started out with telling us that The Premier League is the long term goal. That then moved to Championship within 3 years and has now been adjusted in his latest interview to 3-5 years. The reality is that Bristol Rovers are absolutely miles and miles away from being a club who will consistently challenge for a place in The Champ and even further away from being a side that are remotely close to being able to stay there. Yet we have been continually fed bluff about going up etc. We’d be better off to just accept the fact that it’s going to take a long time until we get to the stage where we can have a go. Yes, I said something similar recently that JB and Wael had raised the fans’ expectations about a challenge for the Championship when in reality when push came to shove we haven’t quite pushed on. By that I mean we have a decent spine to the team but again when it came to getting strikers and players with real pace into the team we didn’t complete the recruitment. No balance. No real problem with the recruitment last summer save for the fact we didn’t get any strikers, like 2020 and we’ve paid the price, although not so severe as 2021. And that’s been the strange part of this season. Compared to much of this century we’ve done ok yet there is a real negativity around the place and I think the fanbase expects to be challenging when in reality, as you say we are some way off. But football’s a funny game and decent recruitment this summer and keep the best of what we’ve got annd get strikers and we could challenge. If the owners want to that is. UTG!
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