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Post by mehewmagic on Dec 23, 2019 13:11:55 GMT
The most surprising Gas manager announcement since Martin Dobson in 1991 (and we know how that one worked out). I think Starnes has potentially made a masterstroke of an appointment. Playoffs beckon! I know what you mean but I once wrote a re-assessment of Martin Dobson and TBH he was a decent choice at the time. And certainly a more logical choice that Gerry was at the time he got the Rovers job. Dobbo had a great track record as a player and as a manager. Internal politics, player power, his unusual habits and injuries did not help. It wasn't actually a good advert for our club really, especially the first two.
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Post by mehewmagic on Dec 23, 2019 13:05:37 GMT
Wow - not seen such visible signs of unity before! I realise what you're getting at... that usually you never see the people who appointed a manager, but TBF these are the three people who shortlisted / interviewed so it is a logical step to have a photo like this.
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Post by mehewmagic on Dec 23, 2019 13:00:34 GMT
Considering his experience within coaching & youth/development set ups this sounds a good appointment. He will hopefully be fully aware that the development set up is playing catch up with other teams and there is a high probability that we may lose some players in the transfer window. I don't think some of the names that have been mentioned would have been happy with the set up. Is it a risk, yes. However, considering the clubs situation this seems a calculated risk and hopefully he may get some youngsters in from elsewhere willing to learn and will get us some performances/points whilst they are here Exactly. At what point in history can you make an appointment like this, without heaping a load of pressure on a young-ish man with no experience of being the out and out leader? Not often. Usually appointments at this time of the year (e.g. when Buckle, DC and MM all sacked) are a desperate attempt to change a lot and shake up the dressing room. Not a lot is expected of him except the status quo and to try to stay near-ish the top and hopefully get in the play-offs. If this had happened in the closed season it could overwhelm him. It could create a huge expectation and a lot of work to do. If it had happened after a relegation it could have been too much as well (cf. Buckle). Ditto if it was a large rebuilding job. If it had happened at a 'bigger' club who were near the top of the league and pretty much expected promotion, then that would also create a lot of pressure. TBH this is the perfect time to try something different, especially if for the next five months he is going to pretty much carry on from where GC left off. Not sure if it's just me but a line of the BRFC article possibly suggests so - “As part of our discussions with Ben around the role and the shared expectations, we have devised a plan to ensure that the good work achieved during the first half of the season is continued into the New Year, with the collective vision of helping the club push for the highest league finish as possible."
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Post by mehewmagic on Dec 23, 2019 12:47:42 GMT
Just one question... does he live within a 10 mile radius of Bristol? He lives in India. is that OK?
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Post by mehewmagic on Dec 23, 2019 12:41:41 GMT
I guess you don't have a young child to buy for? I think you and others are missing the OP's point. He wants to happily buy his nephew the away top that he saw at his first ever away game and the one that he may well often see on highlights. But he can't. He's not annoyed as such at the tops being auctioned for charity, nor is he complaining about the price, or being out of stock, the size not available, the shop being closed by the time he's finished work or even the price of fish, but about the FACT that he can't make a young Gashead happy by buying a normal, full priced top for him; something that usually happens millions of times a year all over the planet. I'm think we can all agree that although the dark blue away kit is sweet to look at it IS pretty impracticable and as soon as we saw it we all knew that it would not be used much as an actual football kit. It would therefore make sense to have the one that is worn most on sale so that normal, average, working fans can buy it for themselves or their loved ones. And then the charities would be soooo lucky to receive the funds from auctioning off a kit you're saying no one likes. When did we as a society stop understanding that children can't have everything they want? woosh. the sound of reasoned debate flying over a wig and gown
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Post by mehewmagic on Dec 23, 2019 12:39:33 GMT
I guess you don't have a young child to buy for? I think you and others are missing the OP's point. He wants to happily buy his nephew the away top that he saw at his first ever away game and the one that he may well often see on highlights. But he can't. He's not annoyed as such at the tops being auctioned for charity, nor is he complaining about the price, or being out of stock, the size not available, the shop being closed by the time he's finished work or even the price of fish, but about the FACT that he can't make a young Gashead happy by buying a normal, full priced top for him; something that usually happens millions of times a year all over the planet. I'm think we can all agree that although the dark blue away kit is sweet to look at it IS pretty impracticable and as soon as we saw it we all knew that it would not be used much as an actual football kit. It would therefore make sense to have the one that is worn most on sale so that normal, average, working fans can buy it for themselves or their loved ones. But, they said they weren't going to be selling them, right from the off. Not that difficult to understand is it? that doesn't automatically make the decision right though does it?
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Post by mehewmagic on Dec 19, 2019 18:24:21 GMT
Her we go, some of you just cannot leave things in the past. Gerry did more than Holloway and yet when he returned it was a disaster, and then after Holloway had told Zamora he wouldn't get a pay rise or a place in his team he was fortuitous to have GD who overspent on getting the players he wanted in. Then when it went horribly wrong and our main midfield general broke his ankle rather that get a replacement he got 2 kids in on loan. We didn't go up, players left and the new signings were crap, especially Jones the slowest CH I have ever seen, and he left us to go to York, where he didn't last very long. It's a NO to Holloway, and whatever colour blood he is bleeding at the moment. He has only been successful where he has had money to spend. We were £1.2 million in debt when he left us. A long time ago. I would rather have continuity that have Holloway come in and mess the team about, as he surely would. And as for those slating GC off for leaving us when we were 4th in the league, Holloway left Plymouth when they were 4th in the league, and he had Green blood in his veins at the time He offered Zamora a new contract, but the board wouldn't budge and give him better terms (the offer was about £800 a week if I remember correctly). If you think he wanted to bring in two 17-year-olds to replace Mauge etc then you are more deluded than I first thought. The board at the time wouldn't stump up the cash for the experienced replacements that Ollie wanted. As for being in debt, players brought in by Ollie went on to be sold for over £7 million in total. Oh you and your darn facts!
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Post by mehewmagic on Dec 19, 2019 18:20:59 GMT
Went to the club shop to buy my young nephew his first Rovers shirt for Christmas, having watched his first game away at Shrewsbury last month he loved the yellow shirt and his mother suggested that would be his favourite, happy memories and a Christmas morning surprise. When I got to the shop I was told there are no yellow replica shirts on sale only the blue black away shirts which would mean nothing to him. When I got home I looked at the fixture list, of the away games we play 9 teams play in blue/dark blue and therefore the only top we can play in is yellow. For 43% of our away games, the blue black away shirt is redundant. You would hope that the commercial department would take all of this into account before plunging into the design of an away shirt that only represents the club at 50% of away games. I thought we had a more switched on commercial department now with Premier League experience that would push the commercial side forward. With respect, if ever a thread summed up the 'any reason to moan' ethos that seems to blight an element of our fan base this is it! The club made it VERY clear when they released the yellow 3rd kit that it would not be made available to purchase to the masses, but rather it was to have a limited replica release with all profits going to charity.. In an age of certain clubs (naming no names of course..) having 3 new kits every single season and charging £50+ to purchase any one of them, I actually found it a really refreshing approach. Yes we need a 3rd kit, but that does not mean we have to use it as an excuse to bleed the fans for some extra cash, lets instead use the opportunity to benefit a charity both financially and in terms of publicity. I guess you don't have a young child to buy for? I think you and others are missing the OP's point. He wants to happily buy his nephew the away top that he saw at his first ever away game and the one that he may well often see on highlights. But he can't. He's not annoyed as such at the tops being auctioned for charity, nor is he complaining about the price, or being out of stock, the size not available, the shop being closed by the time he's finished work or even the price of fish, but about the FACT that he can't make a young Gashead happy by buying a normal, full priced top for him; something that usually happens millions of times a year all over the planet. I'm think we can all agree that although the dark blue away kit is sweet to look at it IS pretty impracticable and as soon as we saw it we all knew that it would not be used much as an actual football kit. It would therefore make sense to have the one that is worn most on sale so that normal, average, working fans can buy it for themselves or their loved ones.
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Post by mehewmagic on Dec 17, 2019 19:19:53 GMT
Don't worry about the timing, the post is actually fast at this point in December...
What do you give the Gashead who has (almost) everything at Christmas time?
A book about Rovers of course, or maybe one about our favourite Bristolian artist Banksy, or even better... books on both.
I'm offering 20% off ALL currently available books, some of which are already on sale prices! Just use the discount code - wearefourth - when checking out of my webshop HERE
Everything has FREE delivery in the UK, and discounted rates for the rest of the world.
This sale is valid on all of my physical books (four Gas books & two Banksy books), and all the bundles as well.
The sale code will reduce 'Back to the Future', 'Double Darrell', ‘Print That Season!’ or ’Away The Gas’ to only £7.99 each. The full monty of all three season review books will be just over £22, OR all four books will be only just over £30. That's around 850 pages of pure Gas. Phew, I challenge you to read that much Gas on the toilet!
The Banksy books, including my new-ish ‘Banksy Colouring & Drawing Book’, are also discounted down to silly billy prices, including an incredibly cheap bundle of both for £15.59. 400+ pages!
Get them all here UTG
martin
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Post by mehewmagic on Dec 17, 2019 18:25:18 GMT
Got these on my shopping list - for my son's Christmas stocking. Always looking for something a bit quirky, so these are great. They also do underwear, so might treat myself to a thong with Rodder's face on. Which way around would you wear it? Asking for a friend
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Post by mehewmagic on Dec 17, 2019 18:23:06 GMT
Surely he is it at the mem for every game as a gashead anyway. When you find him ask him why he never ever let us have a player on loan from every club he has managed. Just in case you genuinely don't know he was very unhappy about the way it ended in Jan 2001. He has since kept his distance from the club and also from the majority of events that took place at the club. To get to him you had to go through Ian Holtby. He moved back to the area last year (near Box, on the Somerset / Wiltshire border) and relationships thawed a bit.
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Post by mehewmagic on Dec 17, 2019 18:09:57 GMT
The point is that we will not improve on our losses of £65,000 / week on crowds of 6,000 which is unsustainable. How do we get better players in on 6,000? People need to understand the finances are very concerning. With the right Manager there is no reason why we cannot play to a better standard at home from where we derive the income. We already have most of the players to achieve that. The ironic thing is I think we would of got 8k plus on sat and 10k plus Boxing Day. Good results in those two games and we’d be hitting high numbers prob for rest of season hard to be that sure though. A lot of attendance figures come through ST holders, and that boat has passed, so even an upturn in creative football and being near top of the league is unlikely to bring 2k back for most games, especially in the dark, money tight months of Jan and Feb. Probably a better chance would be a hope for higher numbers in spring, based on (pray...) better football AND a chance of promotion. UTG This could be a great second half to the season. Not a lot to lose really.
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Post by mehewmagic on Dec 16, 2019 17:08:31 GMT
Paul Tisdale: 7/4 Steve Cotterill: 3/1 Ian Holloway: 4/1 Nathan Jones: 4/1 Michael Flynn: 9/2 Michael Duff: 6/1 Lee Mansell: 8/1 Harry Kewell: 10/1 Kevin Nolan: 10/1 Nigel Adkins: 16/1 Chris Hargreaves: 18/1 Lee Clark: 20/1 Shaun Derry: 20/1 Carl Fletcher: 25/1 This is only on Sport Nation Bet. I don’t think the other bookies run with it until it’s confirmed the manager has actually left. Some seriously uninspiring names there. John Smith George Jones and Jock Brown are surely more uninspiring names
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Post by mehewmagic on Dec 16, 2019 17:05:47 GMT
As the great bard MJ sang, "It's easy as ABC".
Anyone But Cotterill
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Post by mehewmagic on Dec 16, 2019 17:03:31 GMT
Very difficult. If we want someone who could come in and essentially pick up with where GC left off, then it’s most likely got to be someone within the club - I.e Hargreaves. Whilst not pretty or fun to watch, the football we’ve played all season has got us to 4th in the league! So IMO, the last thing we need is for someone external to come in, rip it all up & try to put their own stamp on the side at such a delicate time in the season. A manager like Tisdale isn’t going to come here and be happy grinding out turgid wins, IMO he’d want to put his own possession-based ‘philosophy’ into the team and try to get us playing more attractive football. And if that works, it’d be great, but I think there’s more chance of someone like that destabilising things and trying to fix something that isn’t broken. So my vote is for Hargreaves until the end of the season. Agree re Tisdale. Possibly a good long term prospect but suspect he could totally f up a promising position this season. TBH ANY new manager just needs to keep it as it is and if money is available, then they strengthen in positions of weakness / injuries. Look at Luton last season, and Burton several years ago. It's actually pretty much a free hit for any new manager. Won't get into relegation issues and baring a total decline most fans would accept it if we didn't get promotion.
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Post by mehewmagic on Dec 16, 2019 16:55:52 GMT
Anyone apart from Holloway. I'd say anyone apart from Cotterill
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Post by mehewmagic on Dec 16, 2019 16:43:49 GMT
Must be one of the most bittersweet reigns of any Bristol Rovers manager? Firstly he was always up against it to begin with replacing one of the most universally loved and respected managers we've had. The impact he made on the pitch was enormous, from being in the relegation zone in December of last year he completely changed our fortunes guiding us to a very respectable 15th place last year and taking us to 4th in this campaign. He assembled a very hardworking and devoted group of players. Placed an emphasis on giving opportunities to youth products like Kilgour, Menayese and Tomlinson and had an impeccable transfer record that saw us unearth the likes of JCH, Ogogo and Jaakkola. And yet, he never won all the fans around to his side. Even the most rose tinted fan will admit that his style of football, even though getting results, was boring and at times dreadful. Add to that his lack of concern about our progress off the pitch and his disrespectful attitude towards Chris Lines and with hindsight its easy to see why some could never get on board. I can't criticise Coughlan for wanting to be closer to his family, that's very reasonable. But the way he has handled his departure smacks of a lack of class and for that reason I don't think he will be looked back on too positively. Thoughts? Must admit I'm pretty shocked at most of this thread. The guy rescued us from very serious relegation issues. AND did it relatively comfortably. I think that should instantly put him up there as a very positive point in our history. How many times before have we had well meaning changes of manager and yet very little changed? I'm thinking of Garry Thompson, Ray Graydon, Dave Penney, Paul Buckle and to some degree Mark McGhee and John Ward (the return) . Years and years of our lives and our history wasted. He leaves us at the heady height of 4th in Lge 1 with a game in hand, despite some injuries and suspensions. he has given young talent a chance and been around when some decent signings were made. He hasn't left us to go to City or in the middle of a transfer window. I have to add a caveat though; that I haven't seen that many games of his managerial reign. Watching from 'a far' I see mainly the results. The results speak for themselves. I do though feel sad for people who spend time and money watching what nearly everyone says was awful football at times.
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Post by mehewmagic on Dec 14, 2019 23:06:26 GMT
Posts on the Ispwich match thread suggest he wants backing in January, problem is can we survive in the Championship at the Mem when we're already losing £m's in League 1. Typical Rovers we can't even enjoy a famous win for 1 night! Yeovil & Burton survived perfectly OK when they were in the Championship. Is this the same Yeovil who were instantly relegated? Then relegated again to Lge 2, and are now in non-league. And the same Burton who just survived the first season in the champ, but then were relegated and are currently 16th in Lge 1? Not sure how that is "survived perfectly OK"? Edit - OK, seen the other posts, so understand that. I'd still suggest though that the lack of onfield success has potentially hurt them, especially Yeovil of course who have imploded since going up. Some of that is clearly finance based as going up and down lges does play havoc with contracts, salaries etc.
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Post by mehewmagic on Dec 14, 2019 21:43:30 GMT
'Either go to Mansfield or I'm leaving you!' Who could love any woman enough to go to Mansfield?! Is it a euphemism for taking it up the arse?
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Post by mehewmagic on Dec 14, 2019 21:42:36 GMT
If he’s taken us as far as he can where on earth does he think he can take Mansfield?! Dare I suggest he now agrees with DC? I know for a fact that DC was extremely, passionately, emotionally disappointed at what he believed were broken promises re infrastructure. I was surprised how fast and free GC was to say that the training facilities were fine. I don't feel he was just 'towing the line' because he didn't need to say it. He could have just said nothing. That was a weird one for me. Of course he had just got his first manager job though and had FINALLY been given a chance (he is on record as being very disappointed that Southend never made him manager). Of course he was not going to rock any boats at that point. He can now though. This is the perfect chance to ask for more and/or some understanding of what the future will bring (e.g. trg ground, contract for JCH). Will be interesting how this plays out. Football is a game. Contracts are a game. It's all a game. But there are also human / family decisions to make.
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