Show Some Class Ryan!

[Donnybob]

I was travelling down to the Sky Sports studios when the news broke: 'Reports are coming in that Doncaster Rovers have placed their manager, Sean O'Driscoll, on gardening leave.'

'What?!!!!' Did I hear that correctly?

I certainly did.

Later I sat in the production office, a TV showing Sky Sports news was playing away in the background. The sound was turned down but I could see John Ryan spouting away on the screen. I didn't turn up the volume because I had no interest in what he was saying. After all you can't believe a word the man says these days.

Was it only yesterday that he was announcing SOD's job was a safe as Alex Ferguson's?

Oh, and whoopee do, we'd appointed a Blue Square Conference rookie. How apt.

But do you know what got to me most? It wasn't that SOD was no longer in charge. It wasn't the blatant hypocrissy of the dreaded Chairman's vote of confidence. No, it was the 'gardening leave' I objected to. In that one phrase I realised my club was not the club I thought it was. It simply had no class.

When SOD was wanted by a Premier League club JR did everything he could to prevent him moving on. Similarly when the Blades, a huge club, came a knocking it was the same. Sean's our man, he told us. He's the best manager in the lower leagues.

Well, when it suits, he's not. I can only assume Ryan has been cuckolded. It clearly wasn't his choice and he has been made to look stupid. But someone decided we'd be better off with a rookie.

So why haven't we been told he was just sacked, or the decision was mutual? That SOD has accepted a compensation package and been given a clean break to start anew. We'd like to thank him for the amazing 5 years he's given us but we all have to move on sometime.

No, he's on gardening leave, which means, I presume, the Board will pay his wages until he's offered another job. That is a cheapskates answer to the problem. It is demenaing. It shows just how little respect this club has for its personnel and I'm disgusted. The board is disgracing me, and I'll tell you this, I shall not attend another game until the decent thing has been done.

We as fans are part of the club and we're guiltly of trying to weasel out of reaching a dignified split.

SOD has been a valiant and loyal servant of this club. He's the man who has turned worthless offcasts into valuable assets. He dared to raise our dreams. He made other clubs jealous and he did it on a shoestring.

Whether he deserved to be relieved of his duties is irrelevant. It's how you dispense with his services that dictates whether you have any class whatsoever. We are demonstrating to the world that we have none at all. We back him and then sack him on consecutive days. That alone says we clueless with no clear plan or direction. We panicked.

So, please John, just pay him up. Now. Every last penny. And then move on.

Right now I feel the board is a laughing stock. I do not trust their abilities.

They have assets in the squad who have remained out of respect for the manager. I think we'll see a very different squad after January. Players who were valued in the millions two months ago could yet move on for a fraction of that.

Let's face it, this club has no loyalty. Why should the players have any?

[The Red Baron]

I agree with a lot of what you say, although I'm prepared to give Dean Saunders a fair chance- and I saw some things I liked in the second half.

As far as the board thing is concerned- bear in mind the phrase \"boardroom politics.\" I think that was behind the U-turn on Thursday- not that it makes it right of course, just a little easier to understand.

JR did say he's meeting SO'D and RO'K tomorrow so let's hope the decent thing gets done.

[silent majority]

Just because you write a long post doesn't make your point valid. Your reading of the situation is a little skewed and I need to point out a couple of things.

Firstly it was initially stated that he was on gardening leave but then it was confirmed that he had been sacked. No doubt there will be further discussions to sort out the detail.

The interview that John gave in support of Sean was recorded the day before it was released, therefore putting an extra day into the equation. During that time period further discussions had taken place which changed the outcome, it is that simple.

Your loyalty to Sean is commendable, but we owe JR a bigger debt and your loyalty should be to him. Sean didn't make Doncaster Rovers what they are today, John Ryan did. Ultimately my loyalty is to the club, but for now I'm backing the man that has done more for this club than any manager.

[Wellred]

I would have thought by now that you would have accepted that players and loyalty do not go together.
It is a job to them, that's what they are paid to do simple as that.
They don't think like supporters and in their shoes we would probably all do the same.
How many times do we see the kissing the badge crap only for a player to move on soon after then kiss the next clubs badge.
You have a point regarding the \"Gardening leave etc\" but do we know that was actually said or was it lazy hour is again.
Either way it us time to move on and give Dean Saunders  our 100% backing

[Sheepskin Stu]

John Ryan may not have as much influence as before but he certainly has the VSC in his pocket.

[mushRTID]

Sick of hearing JR get slagged off now.

He should be thanked for having the b*llocks to do something about our dreadful situation. Something has clearly happened/been said in the meetings since his backing of SOD, something none of us may never know. If that means you dont come to another game then thats up to you although it seems a pretty pathetic over reaction to a decision just because you dont agree with it.

[moses]

John Ryan said in an interview that they were meeting with Sean on Monday to agree compensation. How else would you classify the current contractual position with SOD until Monday than \"Gardening leave\"?

[mkrover]

totally agree with Mush. People can criticise JR but what was posted was bordering on a personal assasination. Managers and players come and go, but owners who actually care for a club are priceless so we should be showing him the support i think he has earnt.

[Al Riggall]

John Ryan said in an interview that they were meeting with Sean on Monday to agree compensation. How else would you classify the current contractual position with SOD until Monday than \"Gardening leave\"?

Spot on, that is exactly what it is.

Also I cannot believe people are being so naive, did they honestly expect JR to say when quizzed about SODs future \"We are currently weighing up our options and seeing who we can get in to replace him, however every 3 points are vital at the moment so Sean will still be in charge of the team until we agree terms with a replacement to ensure the team receive the best preperation possible for Saturday\"? Not a chance!

Things happen in every business on a daily basis that 99% of the staff are not aware of, never mind all of a businesses customers, there is quite simply not an easy way to go about the situation.

And as for \"paying Sean up now every last penny\", surely we need to negotiate the best possible deal for the club? A £20k saving would be a top loan player for a month, surely this should be our priority rather than \"showing class\", we are not a charity.

[Filo]

Did Sean show any class when he wanted to jump ship to Sheff Utd? Yes he made the right noises when he never went there, but in my opinion, he was offered the job at Sheff Utd and wanted to go, thats why the saga dragged out so long without word from the club, when it became clear that Sheff Utd did n`t want to pay the compensation we wanted Sean had no option but to come out with the right noises, other than resign and lose a pay off, I believe this also happened with the Burnley job. The Sheff Utd job being the more high profile job got to him I think, it`s no co incidence our slump in form started around the same time, basically I think his heart was n`t in the job here anymore, don`y be surprised if he`s already been lined up elsewhere and back in employment in the next 2 to 3 weeks

[Alonzo Drake]

When I read posts like yours Donnybob I gasp in incredulity.

Without John Ryan there would be no Doncaster Rovers.

He's human, and therefore he makes mistakes. Moreover, you ignore internal politics he is dealing with, the club's unbelievable number of injuries, the long run without a win, and I agree with Filo in the fact that Sean's heart went out of the job since not being able to take the Burnley or Blades jobs.

I'll miss Sean, and he got a bum deal, but look around at the other outrageous stuff that goes on in the PL and FL. We are still in a great position, and we will stay up.

If you thought Sean got a bad deal, the reasons behind Peter Doherty's departure in 1958 beggars belief.

[southstandclez]

Just because you write a long post doesn't make your point valid. Your reading of the situation is a little skewed and I need to point out a couple of things.

Firstly it was initially stated that he was on gardening leave but then it was confirmed that he had been sacked. No doubt there will be further discussions to sort out the detail.

The interview that John gave in support of Sean was recorded the day before it was released, therefore putting an extra day into the equation. During that time period further discussions had taken place which changed the outcome, it is that simple.

Your loyalty to Sean is commendable, but we owe JR a bigger debt and your loyalty should be to him. Sean didn't make Doncaster Rovers what they are today, John Ryan did. Ultimately my loyalty is to the club, but for now I'm backing the man that has done more for this club than any manager.

Well said that man

[redmist]

Imagine if SOD was on here under some weird username?

[Ldr]

Imagine if SOD was on here under some weird username?

Steve@dcfd?

[Sandy Lane]

Apologies in advance if this has been discussed previously, as I haven't read all the posts yet.  And perhaps I'm putting 2 + 2 together and getting 5, but what came to mind reading JR's role in all this reminded me of something I thought was strange at the time and still do in fact.  And that was when JR asked the fans to show support of the club by donating money (50 pounds come to mind) or something to that effect.  Now perhaps I'm being dense, but I don't understand really what that was for.  About this time, or perhaps sometime before, the two other directors stopped some of their funding.  Was this all a run up to assess JR's effectiveness or to assess fan's confidence in him and SOD?  Seems an odd way to do it.

Anyway, fast forward to the events of this past week, and we saw the other directors pull away from JR (and SOD), and make their own decision, presumably.  Yes, JR was left holding the bag and did the best he could without publicly voicing his disapproval of the decision or showing disrespect of them or SOD.  He had to make the statement to Sky and the fans since he is the public figure of the club.  Anything other than his making the statement to the press would have been more worrying to me.

So if you look at the whole picture, could it be that the directors had this scoped out for awhile and were waiting for a straw to break the back of JR and SOD, so they could step in and take more control of the club.  And that straw was Reading.

That said, perhaps it's a good thing, and only time will tell.  Most have genuine respect for both SOD and JR, but we all knew something needed to change.  The way it was done was messy, but again may go back to what was going on behind the scenes with JR v. the other directors.  Perhaps now the club will be run more like a business.

[VikingJames]

I've posted this in another thread, but it's equally relevant here...

It's clear that JR meant everything he said last Tuesday, but was overruled/talked round by the other directors in between backing Sean and getting rid of him.

I think JR has been made to look a bit stupid through no fault of his own. You can't really blame him for saying what he thinks on Tuesday, only to be told by the other two directors that they want a change. JR had to listen to the KM2 - he can't expect them to put their money into the club but not have any decision making power.

[RobTheRover]

Surely he'd pick something better than \"Donnybob\".

Donnybob, I love your Passion and support for SOD - I too felt numb and empty on Friday morning - but the board had valid reasons to make the change, and the club is the most important thing, not one man. He'll always have my respect for what he (over)achieved with us, but all good things come to an end.

Please don't turn your back on our great club. I know its raw and painful but give it a couple of months. I know things are in the pipeline....

[jucyberry]

At the end of the day, no one is free, in the background of everyone of us are shadowy figures pulling our invisible strings, why should JR be any different? For weeks post after post has been pondering on, and demanding the men at the back stand up and DO something, show themselves and add some imput into the club...

Well guess what, looks like be careful what you wish for. I feel really sorry for JR..He isn't a god, he isn't a knight errant, he is just  a man, and a fan and someone with enough love and passion for the club to be able to do something huge.

Some are acting like they have just found out santa is not real.

Tbh looking at the intervies JR has given in the last few days I think any of you would be as hard pressed to be as gutted as he looks. and the disloyalty of some is breathtaking.

[RobTheRover]

O think Gareth's post elsewhere brings a bit of clarity to the good of conspiracy theories. I couldn't make the meeting yesterday, but spoke with Martin O'Hara afterwards and his words were virtually word-for-word the same as Gareth's.

I was gutted on Friday.  Now, I'm looking forward to the next few months...

[Standanista]

I've posted this in another thread, but it's equally relevant here...

It's clear that JR meant everything he said last Tuesday, but was overruled/talked round by the other directors in between backing Sean and getting rid of him.

I think JR has been made to look a bit stupid through no fault of his own. You can't really blame him for saying what he thinks on Tuesday, only to be told by the other two directors that they want a change. JR had to listen to the KM2 - he can't expect them to put their money into the club but not have any decision making power.

Correct, he has been outvoted.  And under \"collective responsibility\", as the public face of the club he's then done the right thing and towed the official line, plus had the b*llocks to appear in front of the media having said the opposite - expressing a personal opinion - 48 hours earlier.  That is showing class in my book.

[Colin C No.3]

Some good posts here. It's hard for us supporters trying to fathom why things happened the way they did....JR's backing of SOD on Tuesday, then having to announce his 'sacking' come Friday. Personaly, I think SOD would alwaya be JR's 'man'. If therefore you take that as read, JR had pressure put on him to do a distasteful backturn, the consequences of not doing we can only guess at.

IMO, JR has allowed his pants to be pulled down in public because the alternatives would have been too much to bear for his beloved Rovers.

So, thanks SOD from the bottom of my heart, for showing me a team in red & white hoops with a fully fit squad, playing breathtaking football.

JR needs our support like never before. Here's the man who ten years ago, gave us back our football club

He has mine 100%.

[RobTheRover]

Fantastic sentiment. 100% spot on. SOD was a great manager for us and I'd like to remember him as such.

Actually, that sounds like he's dead!

[eastender]

I was travelling down to the Sky Sports studios when the news broke: 'Reports are coming in that Doncaster Rovers have placed their manager, Sean O'Driscoll, on gardening leave.'

'What?!!!!' Did I hear that correctly?

I certainly did.

Later I sat in the production office, a TV showing Sky Sports news was playing away in the background. The sound was turned down but I could see John Ryan spouting away on the screen. I didn't turn up the volume because I had no interest in what he was saying. After all you can't believe a word the man says these days.

Was it only yesterday that he was announcing SOD's job was a safe as Alex Ferguson's?

Oh, and whoopee do, we'd appointed a Blue Square Conference rookie. How apt.

But do you know what got to me most? It wasn't that SOD was no longer in charge. It wasn't the blatant hypocrissy of the dreaded Chairman's vote of confidence. No, it was the 'gardening leave' I objected to. In that one phrase I realised my club was not the club I thought it was. It simply had no class.

When SOD was wanted by a Premier League club JR did everything he could to prevent him moving on. Similarly when the Blades, a huge club, came a knocking it was the same. Sean's our man, he told us. He's the best manager in the lower leagues.

Well, when it suits, he's not. I can only assume Ryan has been cuckolded. It clearly wasn't his choice and he has been made to look stupid. But someone decided we'd be better off with a rookie.

So why haven't we been told he was just sacked, or the decision was mutual? That SOD has accepted a compensation package and been given a clean break to start anew. We'd like to thank him for the amazing 5 years he's given us but we all have to move on sometime.

No, he's on gardening leave, which means, I presume, the Board will pay his wages until he's offered another job. That is a cheapskates answer to the problem. It is demenaing. It shows just how little respect this club has for its personnel and I'm disgusted. The board is disgracing me, and I'll tell you this, I shall not attend another game until the decent thing has been done.

We as fans are part of the club and we're guiltly of trying to weasel out of reaching a dignified split.

SOD has been a valiant and loyal servant of this club. He's the man who has turned worthless offcasts into valuable assets. He dared to raise our dreams. He made other clubs jealous and he did it on a shoestring.

Whether he deserved to be relieved of his duties is irrelevant. It's how you dispense with his services that dictates whether you have any class whatsoever. We are demonstrating to the world that we have none at all. We back him and then sack him on consecutive days. That alone says we clueless with no clear plan or direction. We panicked.

So, please John, just pay him up. Now. Every last penny. And then move on.

Right now I feel the board is a laughing stock. I do not trust their abilities.

They have assets in the squad who have remained out of respect for the manager. I think we'll see a very different squad after January. Players who were valued in the millions two months ago could yet move on for a fraction of that.

Let's face it, this club has no loyalty. Why should the players have any?

After reading the \" VSC pre match meeting with JR yesterday \" Thread , may be it's the players who have no loyalty .

I think you might have been a bit premature in your condemnation of JR and the board with out being in full knowledge of the situation DB.
I believe JR to be an honourable man and will do the right thing by SOD and ROK, and putting them on \"Gardening leave\" may be one way of doing that.
This way SOD doesn't put at least 2 men on the dole by resigning  , but carries on getting paid until he and ROK find new jobs.

[Donnybob]

John Ryan will get his chance to show if he has any class on Monday. Providing that is if his puppet masters allow him to.

A week ago there were fans on here slagging off the other board members, telling them to **** off, accusing them of not being interested, not prepared to back the club. Get yer 'and in yer pockets. Now it seems they're actually in charge of the show and JR dances to their tune.

The same fans will interpret this as a sign that they're going to invest millions in the club, buy the ground, abandon the tippy-tappy football and play direct, exciting sky ball.

Dream on.

It's clear that JR has little say in the matter. Why else would he say black one day and white the next? He is not the power at the club we once thought he was. The other directors will remain faceless, well below the radar, pulling the strings. But hey ho, he loves the limelight.

'The other directors and I felt the time was right for a change...'

I've no desire to stick the knife in JR. I have lots of respect for what he has done in the past. But this is the present, and we're still rock bottom of the table, albeit in a better place thanks to a lucky riccochet. Nothing has been cured. Relegation is still a probability rather than a possibility unless someone decides to throw 20 million in the pot pretty quickly.

Is that going to happen? I think there's a clue in JR's soundbite: \"We saw what Dean had done at the Racecourse Ground with limited resources and we were impressed because it's a tough Division...\"

Yeh, right. The Blue Square's really tough compared with the Championship. Especially if you've been turning out the reserves and youth teamers for the past 6 months and relying on loan players to add a bit of quality.

Gates are not suddenly going to double now SOD's gone. No-one's going to fear us because we have the best manager in the Blue Square Bet League at the helm. The admin side isn't going to improve overnight and we aren't going to light up the media with headline grabbing news items.

Face it, we've taken the cheap option. There is no compensation fee.

So come on, let's just show some dignity. Pay up SOD's contract and move on. Clean break. No accrimony.

There's no official announcement on the club web site news page to say SOD's been sacked as a far as I can see. No message of thanks for all he's done. Just 43 words hidden in a paragraph welcoming Dean Saunders to the club who, as ever, is sat there next to a beaming JR.

It all seems so wrong to me.

[danrover82]

I may be well off the mark but a few on here seem far too passionate in SODs favor (not saying it isn't deserved) to be just fans?

The guy will always be remembered as a legend just like Tierney, Penney, Walker,Hayter and so forth, but we have to let the board handle it as they see fit at the time, regardless of how we think it makes us look. Not truely knowing what went off at the time leading to the Sacking etc. Maybe Garden leave was to make it sound fairer on SOD than to be Sacked etc.

We will never be as much of a laughing stock as we were that dreadful summer of 98 and it wasn't the shortest notice given to sack a manager before a game either. Them times have truely gone thank god!:)

[wilts rover]

At the end of the day, no one is free, in the background of everyone of us are shadowy figures pulling our invisible strings, why should JR be any different? For weeks post after post has been pondering on, and demanding the men at the back stand up and DO something, show themselves and add some imput into the club...

Well guess what, looks like be careful what you wish for. I feel really sorry for JR..He isn't a god, he isn't a knight errant, he is just  a man, and a fan and someone with enough love and passion for the club to be able to do something huge.

Some are acting like they have just found out santa is not real.
Tbh looking at the intervies JR has given in the last few days I think any of you would be as hard pressed to be as gutted as he looks. and the disloyalty of some is breathtaking.

Yes he is - he was sitting next to me at Brighton, with his name on the back of his shirt and everyfink - 3-1 to the mighty reds...

[donnyproletarian]

Spot on.I think he lost the dreesing room back then.He believed his own hype and no one man is bigger than the club.I think its shity what happened to him with timing etc but for me he should have gone at the end of last season when he made it obvious he was waiting for a bigger club and using Rovers as a spring board .We need a manger who is commited to the club and SOD was not towards the end .PS wonder if we will gwt Deano back now with perhaps a cheeky bid for the Heffs:byebye

Did Sean show any class when he wanted to jump ship to Sheff Utd? Yes he made the right noises when he never went there, but in my opinion, he was offered the job at Sheff Utd and wanted to go, thats why the saga dragged out so long without word from the club, when it became clear that Sheff Utd did n`t want to pay the compensation we wanted Sean had no option but to come out with the right noises, other than resign and lose a pay off, I believe this also happened with the Burnley job. The Sheff Utd job being the more high profile job got to him I think, it`s no co incidence our slump in form started around the same time, basically I think his heart was n`t in the job here anymore, don`y be surprised if he`s already been lined up elsewhere and back in employment in the next 2 to 3 weeks

[benaldo]

Stop being a knee jerk SOD worshipper -

\"Take the DonnyBob challenge\"

Poor old DonnyBob.....

[Florida Rover]

I think we should all give it a rest if we care for DRFC as all that is being achieved is division within Rovers Supporters. I believe we should think of what went before JR and thank our lucky stars we have what we have. Donnybob and others have a short memory of JR and his achievements and do not look further than their own selfish needs. I also do not think anyone or anything connected with Sky should be so quick to condem.

[RobTheRover]

Aye, blotted his copy book this time. Emotional, yes. Correct, no.