Utterly woeful

[PDX_Rover]

Well, it’s sad to see, of course. We all have Rovers in our blood, and I really felt McSheffrey had the vision and ability to be a good manager for us. But when you start turning on players, it rarely ends well…

So, assuming he does get the boot after the next three games if there is no substantial improvement… then what?

I believe this squad is good enough for promotion.

Who realistically could come in as manager? Who is a genuine contender?

[Lesonthewest]

It’s bad, and not like anyone can forget, we are playing in League Two, the lowest level of the professional game. This is not us struggling to keep up in the Championship.

We are playing largely terrible football and this is with our long term injured starting to return.

Forget about results, we are in League Two and cannot string more than two passes together in 90 minutes. It’s terrible football delivering terrible results.

Have to agree,  today was like watching a Conference side against a league 1 team hoping they stumble across a chance to score a goal. I have no idea what the managers game plan is, we can't string 3 or 4 passes together, we are unbelievably slow, we either pass back or hit it long to our lone striker, there is no urgency, we may as well not play Taylor as we don't give him the ball & he spent more time defending, we are at home, in league 2, it's absolutely shocking.

Swindon had players persistently in space & passed through us with ease. Every side I have watched us play have a plan & play as a unit. In the first couple of games I thought this team had at least  a bit of character, that has disappeared in the last 3 games. Anyway I blame George Miller for everything.

[jamesrover17]

It might not be the worst result but you just know that if McSheffrey did leave, then Steve Eyre would get the job.

Thats what’s most worrying… Lets not forget, he got the coaches job after working as a pundit for BBC manchester… Might as well appoint Ronnie Moore or Carl Asaba…

[Cramby10]

That was so frustrating to watch. Time and time again we get pretty average teams turn up here and we make them look like a premiership team.

We looked unfit, slow, disorganised and unable to keep the ball or find space.

We never looked like scoring at all. Another 90 mins with no goals for.

They were reading our passing better than we were, intercepting balls as soon as it touched a Rovers players foot.

We have a decent squad, we need a manager who can make a team out of them. And this time let’s decide who we want and go and get them.

With this squad I reckon it would be an attractive post if we offered it to the right person.

genuine question? Do we really have a decent squad. It’s seems to me we have next to no pace, athleticism or physicality in the team. We’re desperately short in centre mid, up front and fullback. It pains me to say that Clayton was floundering hopelessly today and biggins is a waste of a shirt.  Rowey took a knock and Tomlin not fit enough. I don’t rate any of our fullbacks (how knoyle got mom I’ll never know). And apart from Miller, who gets f**k all service we have nothing up top.

[Chris Black come back]

Lincoln City - a club certainly no bigger than us and probably with similar financial resources - has just scored 6 away from home in League One. My expectations are now to be a competitive side in League One, not to get in to Championship. We are a million miles away from being in a position to concede 6 goals in League One, let alone score 6. How has it come to this?

[big fat yorkshire pudding]

Should add that I fundamentally do not believe now is the time to change manager, he needs to solve things very quickly. We can't keep changing every 30-40 games.

The next 5-10 games are crucial for him.

[ncRover]

Should add that I fundamentally do not believe now is the time to change manager, he needs to solve things very quickly. We can't keep changing every 30-40 games.

The next 5-10 games are crucial for him.

Are you forgetting how long McSheffrey was the manager for last season?

[monkeytennis]

Lincoln City - a club certainly no bigger than us and probably with similar financial resources - has just scored 6 away from home in League One. My expectations are now to be a competitive side in League One, not to get in to Championship. We are a million miles away from being in a position to concede 6 goals in League One, let alone score 6. How has it come to this?

Aren’t we playing them on Tuesday? Oh dear.

[BobG]

Probably antedeluvian today and harking back to better times too, but Dave Penney would be a better option right now.

BobG

[Upton Rover]

I can’t rest till he goes simple, never rated him as a manager, I hoped he would do well and he’s not going to an TBH we could be in a relegation battle if this keeps up, No 1 must be fooled on how bad a manager GM is

[big fat yorkshire pudding]

Should add that I fundamentally do not believe now is the time to change manager, he needs to solve things very quickly. We can't keep changing every 30-40 games.

The next 5-10 games are crucial for him.

Are you forgetting how long McSheffrey was the manager for last season?

Nope, massively different circumstances and we must give him more time yet.  As I said the next 5-10 are crucial.

[roversdude]

Can’t defend that performance - devoid of any game plan, pace or desire. I honestly don’t know where to go from here. It’s not the fact we’ve lost 3 on the bounce there is just nothing there. I actually feel sorry for Miller the amount of support he’s getting.
GMc blaming the players again, it’s his job to get them fired up

[vaya]

We don't operate as a unit supporting each other. If by some miracle Miller happens to win the ball after it's lumped forward he's got no support. We look like a team of strangers devoid of ideas

I'm inclined to agree. We look like an encounter group for people coming out of long term solitary confinement rather than 11+ players who've been together all week.

[colincramb]

I was possibly a bit rash on reflection when I started this post and ended it with he has to go. I was still fuming from the dross I’d just watched.

He should get a bit more time, largely because I don’t see much else out there at this level that we could get right now. But, that was up there with the worst if displays I’ve ever seen at that stadium. No, we haven’t lost heavily but the complete lack of plan or strategy was alarming. It was like watching a pre-season training match in the first half and it was abundantly clear that once they scored it was game over.

Not sure he can change it and he’s been fortunate with some results so far, but now the dust has settled we are getting badly exposed.

It ain’t looking good folks

[Pliskin]

How incompetent do you have to be to have players like Lee Tomlin, Tommy Rowe, Luke Molyneux, Jon Taylor and Adam Clayton at your disposal and fail to create anything in a home game at League 2 level?

He's been in charge for 9 months and in all that time we've only had about 3 matches where we've actually been the better side. How many other FL clubs would tolerate that?

It's clear already that this bloke isn't going to ever take us back to League 1. I'd be inclined to get rid now. Why waste time waiting for the inevitable?

[bobbymax]

I have to say when you ain't gone a plan A let alone a plan B you ain't gonna win much. For me, I've seen enough, he can go tomorrow for me before the rot well and truly sets in.

[Filo]

In my opinion, Clayton and Tomlin strut around with the mindset that they are too good for this league instead of getting on with playing the game, they try to be too cute and then lose possession in critical areas. Williams seems to have reverted to his rabbit in the headlights game. Miller is being hung out to dry by the manager and his team mates and the whole teams passing is dreadful 

[ChrisBx]

Should add that I fundamentally do not believe now is the time to change manager, he needs to solve things very quickly. We can't keep changing every 30-40 games.

The next 5-10 games are crucial for him.

Are you forgetting how long McSheffrey was the manager for last season?

Nope, massively different circumstances and we must give him more time yet.  As I said the next 5-10 are crucial.

I'm not sure why 44 games would be enough games but 39 isn't.

[Scooter]

I like McSheffrey, he is a nice guy. However the football he is serving up is awful. We were dreadful last season and still could and should have avoided relegation. This season most teams have outplayed us and the late goals masked that. Mansfield were way better which is sometimes fair enough. I went to Barrow and it was awful. Today I left 5 minutes from the end which I never do. I was so bored and with the lack of tactics and workrate it was obvious we were never going to score

The club should identify a target and go for them. Don’t go through weeks trying to interview. They will still have good applicants in record. Be decisive and get the right man for the job

We need a change

[NickDRFC]

I’m becoming increasingly convinced that McSheffrey is at best a poor manager and at worst an idiot. It’s not just the utter dross we keep serving up, the complete lack of cohesion or structure, it’s his post-match comments. After the match today he talked about sticking together, moments after digging the team out (again) for not showing enough desire or bravery. At least this time it’s not publicly picking on individuals.

Much was made of Wellens’ alleged poor man management skills but who in the dressing room is going to listen to what he’s saying and think they want to bust a gut to help keep him in a job?

[sedwardsdrfc]

It's inevitable he'll go now. It's just a case of when. Maybe he will be given 10 more games maybe 5 whatever the end result will be him going because he doesn't seem capable. No evidence that he is from last season to this it's the same.

Last season a semi decent manager with 8 signings and over half a season or whatever he had would have scraped enough points to keep us up. This season a semi decent manager would have us playing well against most teams in a way we recognise as a team going for playoffs or better.

Just nothing at all from him. Pick an 11 that looks ok on paper and hope we win.

Copps time to show that the new role isn't just jobs for the boys but a serious improvement on the management of the club. New manager needed no job site application process. We must have an idea of how we want to play and a list of people who have shown they can get a team doing that before and are in our price range. Get it done. Every game with GM we will just fall further off the pace

[Redroy]

It does not look promising. There are many worries for me in how we are doing but one of the most glaring is it doesn't seem that the manager knows who he has signed. He keeps being surprised that teams are quicker than us and have more legs. No surprise when we have lads in midfield who look like they are playing masters football or in exhibition games.

More convinced after seeing this team so far that our recruitment is far off what we needed. Ro Shaun isn't a centre half to lead us to promotion and to compete in League One, *no one* in that midfield is either. Imagine them all in league one? Doesn't bear thinking about.

[Arsenal Of The North]

That was awful today. No idea of how we want to try and play the game. From where I was sat it looked like the game plan was to kick it high down the middle hopeful miller may latch onto something. Well he won’t win anything in the air against 6f defenders.

Why play with wingers if we are afraid to use them? Wasted today we may as well have stuck 3 strikers on and hope something stuck.

Midfield is/has been non existent, Clayton wants to play between the CB and the RB OR either on the wing for me he is the cause of all our problems at the minute. He’s constantly out of position which means we lose the midfield battle and they can walk straight through us, also it means we have no midfield to play through so inevitably we have to kick it high and long because we don’t use the wingers.

For the last 2 games this has been apparent.

Don’t get me started on Clayton’s set pieces too! Ban him from them for the foreseeable!

Poor miller feeding on scraps, waste of a player.

Next week he has to drop Williams, I have been a critical of him in the past and also held my hands up when he’s played well, but the defending he showed today was pathetic, especially the clearance that led to their goal.

Clayton dropped, I’d bring close straight back in.

Drop one of the two holding midfielders and put another attacking one in their.

[Pside]

He needs to go plain and simple. We’ve been awful most of the season and the last minute wins have papered over the cracks. We need to get a gaffer who knows what their doing sooner rather than later or this season is over

[sedwardsdrfc]

Clayton hadn't played for nearly 2 years when we signed him from injury and he's at a good age.

Mad when you think about it that we haven't got another centre midfielder in their prime for that position. Clayton's probably a good player to have in the squad and to play odd games and bring off the bench. But he displaces too many players because he lacks the legs to be a key player for us.

Maybe we can pack the midfield 4141 with clayton in front of the back 4 with Biggins and Rowe as proper 8's no number 10 to protect him. But that would just give us even fewer forward players

[DonnyBazR0ver]

Can't really add much to what's been said already as the last 3 performances have been unacceptable.

Hard to put the finger on why the wheels have fallen off. I believe the players are capable of much better.

I can't believe you set out to play hoof ball in preparations for each game, but that's what we've been getting. In fact, it's not hoofball because hoofball teams try to pick up second balls, so what we're seeing is just aimless. No manager, no coach, no player plans to play like that surely!

Is the team becoming over reliant on Clayton and Tomlin with players standing back waiting for them to dictate the game? If they are then we're in trouble because Claytons passing and decision making today was awful. Rowe's gone in to sulk mode and the other players seem to be going through the motions too with no anticipation, lack of commitment to a game plan and desire to impose themselves on the opposition.

I've to date given GMC the benefit of doubt and felt he would grow into the role and become a good manager. Whilst it's highly undesirable to keep changing the manager, we have got to reassess where we are and shake some heads.

Realistically, it's only those on the inside  who really know what's going on and they will surely be asking questions after these last 3 dire performances.

[Redroy]

Can't really add much to what's been said already as the last 3 performances have been unacceptable.

Hard to put the finger on why the wheels have fallen off. I believe the players are capable of much better.

I can't believe you set out to play hoof ball in preparations for each game, but that's what we've been getting. In fact, it's not hoofball because hoofball teams try to pick up second balls, so what we're seeing is just aimless. No manager, no coach, no player plans to play like that surely!

Is the team becoming over reliant on Clayton and Tomlin with players standing back waiting for them to dictate the game? If they are then we're in trouble because Claytons passing and decision making today was awful. Rowe's gone in to sulk mode and the other players seem to be going through the motions too with no anticipation, lack of commitment to a game plan and desire to impose themselves on the opposition.

I've to date given GMC the benefit of doubt and felt he would grow into the role and become a good manager. Whilst it's highly undesirable to keep changing the manager, we have got to reassess where we are and shake some heads.

Realistically, it's only those on the inside  who really know what's going on and they will surely be asking questions after these last 3 dire performances.

The worry I have though Baz is were the wheels ever on? Performance wise and stats wise, we have started the season a lot worse than the points we have picked up. As soon as that flukey run ends, you get this. If we were playing really well and hit a rocky patch then ok but we've played shite and fluked some points.

[sedwardsdrfc]

Lets be right on performances we should be down the bottom end of the division at this stage.

It's great winning a game in the last min after playing shite once in a while but the fact we had to relay on that for so many of our points was the writing on the wall. All fans will kind of let it happen so long as the wins keep coming but when the losses start racking up you won't get any credit in the bank for those results. That's what were seeing now.

[Panda]

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the..............Eco Power. 

Surprisingly i'm not angry about today. I expect it now as GM only has one mindset. It is pure folly to expect anything else from a manager who simply doesn't know anything else.

Now we have embarked on the reverse run of form, where we can't buy a goal (from open play), barely muster a chance or get a result. Like last season, i literally couldn't be confident in predicting when and where our next point will come from. This is not progress. We are now in League 2.

There was just so much wrong about today in all respects so no need to go on about that. Most of us saw it with our own eyes but were powerless to do anything about it. Sadly the man masquerading as a football manager, dressed like he's at a day at the races or attending a mates wedding reception is also powerless to do anything about it. Mustering little more than a few claps and many glances down at the floor, arms folded.

Screaming out at me today was the obvious sign that the players suddenly aren't giving anywhere near 100% and i think there are some players not too happy with GM. Just my hunch but i got that impression today and this is a huge concern.

Yet again we kick off a home game and spent it's entirety almost watching the opposition dominate possession and knock it about like they know what they are doing. Swindon did lack in attacking areas today and despite how bad we were, i thought we could get away with a 0-0 but the goal almost was coming as they started a spell where they created more and more chances.

Swindon were not a good side, but we made them look one.

Mitchell pulling off some superb saves whilst their keeper pulled up a chair and read the paper. Mitchell also needs to distribute the ball a lot quicker. Watching him spend epochs to kick the ball just adds to the general malaise and apathy about the place, instilled by the manager.

As bad a performance as you'll see, and another week passes where we not only have not improved but we actually look worse in parts than last season.

Onto Crawley then and i already know how we will play because it is the same every home game. I love going to the footy for the escape from the usual routine but i'm really starting to consider not attending, even though i have a season ticket as the football is just so consistently dire that it is starting to affect my mood and i've got enough on with that already. 

Mitchell MOM for me today. The rest truly appalling.

Oh, and i had the misfortune of hearing GM's post match thoughts on Radio Deedar on the way back down the M1.

"We didn't play with personality today" he said.

NO SHIT! 

[goalkick]

Abysmal. Team like a bunch of disorganised seaside donkeys. Swindon showed how the game should be played with pace and accurate passing. Sorry for miller who tried very hard with no support. Difficult to see how we are going to improve with the same tactics.