Championship

[normal rules]

Abject disappointment with the way rovers have finished the season, but Pompey have totally bottled it today. Their fans must be utterly gutted today missing out on a playoff spot. At home to  accy also.

[DonnyOsmond]

Pretty sure I remember Hoden saying next season's budget will be slightly bigger than this season's.

[Chris Black come back]

That was absolutely pitiful today. I feel so sorry for Copps that he was associated with that total disgrace today.

[BVB]

I think the vast majority of fans do appreciate we are a stable club on solid foundations and don't expect us to be out spending other clubs and paying fees for top players.

I don't tend to worry about budgets but judge on what I see on the pitch and whether we're getting value out of the players making us competitive.

Every new season brings fresh hope rather than expectation. The board provide the stability for the manager of the day to use his resources as he sees fit and generally, we have had managers in recent times who have assembled decent squads that give us that competitive edge that I want to see. Some more successful than others.

SO'Ds play off team carried the day but McCann's didn't, but for the spin of a ball, a slip here and there, missing penalties, both of those outcomes could have been different. Yet some will argue that the clubs ambition was very different comparing both occasions.

McCann could easily have been hailed in the same light as S'OD. SO'D himself could have followed the same path as McCann had we not achieved promotion at Wembley by been headhunted by a higher club.

I remember SO'D saying retrospectively about 'Destination Championship', there was no substance behind it so he and RO'K had to gradually build on the infrastructure and squad to give us a chance of fulfilling the dream. McCann also assembled a squad in a relatively short time that could easily have been successful.

Success is not a given irrespective of the size of budget as we know all too well. What fans should be more interested in is what happens when those players, no matter where they come from, cross that white line and play for the shirt.

I trust the board will again appoint the best candidate for the job and allow him to manage the squad as he sees fit. If they do make a good choice then that should be reflected on what we see on the pitch and we'll be competing for the play offs again. That is good enough for me to maintain my interest to keep supporting the club.

I don't need a chairman or owner constantly beating a drum. I appreciate the club being approachable should we have concerns and questions but I'd rather the manager and the players do the talking where it matters.

Well said.
Balanced, rational, and well-written piece.
No slating, accusations or cursing.
Thanks

[Chris Black come back]

Minor correction. We were cheated at Charlton as the penalty shoutout was not fairly handled. It was a very tight game but in the end we were deliberately disadvantaged in the shoot out, where fine margins make all the difference. This follows from the August 2013 game there, where we were also cheated. The laughable outcome where the goals we scored in that cancelled match were chalked off but not the cards we got. Very pleased those cheats failed to get promoted also.

[Alan Southstand]

Another slight correction - McCann inherited a good squad and added Wilks and Kane.

[sha66y]

Donny doesn’t want the championship

Look at the evidence

Cost

Managers

Recent results after January

Loan players

Accept it

Going back to the original OP...

I think that decision has well and truly been consigned to history....

At this moment in time I doubt there is one Rovers fan who could possibly put his/her head above the parapet and even think that we will make the play offs....unless their tongue is wedged in a vice gripping cheek...

With great anticipation we await ;
1) New manager announcement ( to fight over)
2) Retained list ( to ridicule, marvel and debate)
3) Released list ( as above )
4 ) The new appointees ...( and this is were those who play Championship Manager have the obvious edge, and will regale us with stats both positive and negative)

and a new preseason starts with all the opinions oozing from desperate to be heard pores...which just happens to be the glue that holds our Rovers community together..

God bless “ groundhog days”

[MachoMadness]

Another slight correction - McCann inherited a good squad and added Wilks and Kane.

He also added Downing, who I'd be on the phone to as he hasn't been getting game time at Pompey.

[drfchound]

Downing was very good for us.

[Chris Black come back]

Times change and this was now sadly some time ago, but it was striking the 2008 side had lots of proven League One players - Hayter, Stock, Wellens, Roberts, Sullivan, O’Connor, Price. Some promising young players in Mills and Hird but the
backbone of the team was players who were already strong performers at the level we were playing. These were no doubt not cheap, but it is an entirely different approach to having a team full of youth, many of which we don’t own.