We must start a fresh

[Lesonthewest]

Yesterday afternoon I was just about to cut the grass when the heavens opened.  Ordinarily I would have been at the Keepmoat by then enjoying a pre-match beer with a few mates.  Circumstances had dictated this year that I couldn't afford the time or money for a season ticket but I had intended to attend as many games as possible. 

The whole McKay thing didn't sit right with me. I know a lot of you are/were fully behind it and that's fine. It was a gamble, worth doing? In my opinion no but hey that's football.

Anyway at 2pm I found out it was only £15 a ticket and with a lot of McKay's cronies "injured" I felt I should get behind the players and manager, to see him manage in his own way.

What a start, worth the £15 alone to see that hammer from Copps come off the bar, such confidence after having already terrorised the defence for 10 minutes.  Then it all went wrong. 15 minutes in 2-0 up (should have been 4) and Saunders changes the shape. Brings Robert in from wide where he had done some good work and sticks him off top with Browny.  Why we changed it when we are on top I don't know.

Second half and you could see the early confidence had gone and I think we looked beat.  Fair enough the referee was appalling but we just shouldn't get in these situations. 

As soon as Brown went off we had no way of holding the ball up and it just kept coming back.  Barnes is no combative midfielder (one tackle aside) and Mussy is no left winger. 

At one point late on at 3-2 up JOC went to take a throw from halfway and was told to leave it for Copps to take. Copps had Hayter to aim at and unsurprisingly it came straight back and put us in danger.  On halfway why not have two players to throw to in Copps and Hayter?

I'm sure Saunders know's what he is doing in the final third (or knows what he wants to happen) but I'm not sure he knows how to get it there or what to do anywhere else on the pitch.  Carey is obviously the defensive coach but I don't have too much positive to say about that position either.

So what to do?  Lots out of contract who haven't been good enough for a while.  A good opportunity for a new manager to bring in players (within the budget, whatever that will be) and manage. Until yesterday I would have given Saunders a chance but I struggle to find positives other than him being a likeable guy.

Start a fresh now, don't wait til 6 games into the season as that may well be too late......again.

Great post, until yesterday I thought exactly the same, I actually like Saunders as a guy, willing to do well, enthusiastic, but, & it's a big but, his tactics & substitutions are naive & baffling. Yesterday proved this for me, 2-0 in front against what was with respect a poor Portsmouth side, we actually gifted them the initiative for the rest of the half possession wise, giving them belief when they should have been dead & buried. They had to chase the game, & we let them, & we let them, & we let them. Now if we were a side who could keep the ball once we got it then fair enough, but we're not.  Passing wise we really are shocking, far poorer than Pompey, we look like a team that hasn't a clue what each other are supposed to be doing, or where to play. Bringing on Dumbuya was a joke for me, clearly unfit, & not a clue where to play.

The referee got the attention yesterday & rightly so, but we need to look at the big picture & see there has been no improvement performance wise since Dean took over, create more chances admitted, but we are all over the place & easy pickings for any decent organised side. Did not expect us to stay up after the start we had, but we really should at least be showing some signs of improvement, organisation & teamwork. Not seen any yet.   

[podrover73]

people keep saying sack saunders and a bring a new manager in. I am yet to see any suggestions from posters wanting him out. There are couple reasons why we can't sack him:

a) he's on a 3yr contract and hardly going to walk is he now
b)it would cost money to sack him due to the length of his contract
c)paying him off would mean less money for the playing squad and as i understand we don't even have much off one for next season anyway so why waste more money that could be better used elsewhere

 

 

The name I would put in the hat is Glynn Snodin, and yes I am aware of his involvement before with his brother.
One thing this would do if he decided to take it on would bring the Rovers supporters back on side and singing from the same hymn sheet.

We can get rid of Dean, other clubs have done it and if we continue on this losing run then I think there will be a lot more calling for his head. - this is where we went wrong when the decision was made to get rid of SOD.
Dean should have been offered a simple keep us in the Championship and you will get an extended contract take it or leave it.

 

[mjdgreg]

Unless you want all the old guard to leave and for Saunders to bring in many dozens of new players (which we don't have the money for) then we need to get rid of him as soon as possible. Without the old guard as the core of the team next season we will get relegated again.

The old guard won't play for him. They don't respect him. They think he's clueless. They've been proved right. He's been useless this season and does not deserve another chance.

[DonnyBazR0ver]

Without the old guard as the core of the team next season we will get relegated again.

Please name the old guard you are refer to and those you want to keep.

Go on, tell us the core of the team that will keep us up.

[mjdgreg]

Please name the old guard you are refer to and those you want to keep.

Go on, tell us the core of the team that will keep us up.

I would have thought it was obvious who needs to stay. If you don't know without me having to spell it out then you need to start going to more games. It seems you think the lot should go as you've fallen for the argument that they're all crap and it's their fault we've gone down.

One thing I'll say for Saunders, he's done a good job in convincing a lot of fans it's not his fault and all the blame can be laid at the door of the old guard. Those of us with a bit of common sense can see through this straight away but unfortunately too many of you have fallen for it and so he continues as manager. Wise up and lets get rid of him now before he does any more damage.

[drfcsteve]

It's strange how some people want to blame the old guard all the time, these players helped keep us on the championship for 4 years and before injuries struck last season had us approaching the top 6 in the table.

It's quite simple really, we sacked an experienced manager who the players respected and brought in a football agent and his mate to run the club, that's why we're down.

[SiBo]

It completely dumbfounds me that some people still refuse to acknowledge or accept that DS came as part of WM's plan.

JR's never going to admit it, publically at least, while he's chairman because that would involve him going back on what he said at the time about identifying DS and what he did at Wrexham. WM tried this at Wrexham while DS was manager, he needed someone he knew would go along with the plan. Name me another manager who would accept what WM was proposing? I don't think JR was left with any choice in appointing DS, let alone choose him.

DS has never been, and never will be, the right man for my club. He is too closely associated with everything that has been rotten about this season, which seriously makes me question his values and suitably for my club at a time when it needs its heart restoring.

[WBDRFC]

It completely dumbfounds me that some people still refuse to acknowledge or accept that DS came as part of WM's plan.

JR's never going to admit it, publically at least, while he's chairman because that would involve him going back on what he said at the time about identifying DS and what he did at Wrexham. WM tried this at Wrexham while DS was manager, he needed someone he knew would go along with the plan. Name me another manager who would accept what WM was proposing? I don't think JR was left with any choice in appointing DS, let alone choose him.

DS has never been, and never will be, the right man for my club. He is too closely associated with everything that has been rotten about this season, which seriously makes me question his values and suitably for my club at a time when it needs its heart restoring.

All ma

It completely dumbfounds me that some people still refuse to acknowledge or accept that DS came as part of WM's plan.

JR's never going to admit it, publically at least, while he's chairman because that would involve him going back on what he said at the time about identifying DS and what he did at Wrexham. WM tried this at Wrexham while DS was manager, he needed someone he knew would go along with the plan. Name me another manager who would accept what WM was proposing? I don't think JR was left with any choice in appointing DS, let alone choose him.

DS has never been, and never will be, the right man for my club. He is too closely associated with everything that has been rotten about this season, which seriously makes me question his values and suitably for my club at a time when it needs its heart restoring.

Using that argument then we should get rid of JR and the board of directors, as it was them who introduced everything that "has been rotten about this season"?

[SiBo]

No but they should at least hold their hands up, admit they got it wrong and move on in the right way to give us a club to be proud of again. Of course the only problem with that is that two of the band of three are no longer involved leaving JR to pick up the pieces on his own.

I don't care what he says in the media, JR is one of us and privately it must have killed him inside to see what has happened to the club he has been so proud of for the past 10 years. Do you think he will be happy about or nonplussed by seeing pictures of Diouf wearing the Rovers shirt in stories associated with a serious nightclub allegation? He will be as embarrassed as the rest of us.

For a decade people have only spoken in positive, albeit sometimes patronising, terms about our club. We were the pub team having a laugh and we loved constantly proving people wrong. That has been taken away from us this season.

The undertones of articles in the national papers tells us how much people have wanted to see the experiment fail. People have been exclaiming how sorry they feel for the Rovers fans for getting caught up in this. Our reputation has gone through the ringer due to our association with a certain agent and an ill-judged gamble to stay in the Championship.

I would rather we had got relegated with our heart still intact than now have 'the experiment' the first thing people think of when they hear the name 'Doncaster Rovers'.