Brighton 3-0 Tranmere

[roverstillidie]

I think we all agree that Les did a fantastic job at getting us back in touch in the aftermath of John Barnes. However where views differ I suspect is whether he should have been given the job until the end of the season. I personally think he shouldn't have been given it, I get the impression that Les is a great motivator which worked intially but now the effect seems to have somewhat died off.

PJ should have appointed an manager with experience to take us through to the end of the season rather than Les, who's reluctance to drop players or this 4-3-3 is highlighting his key flaw - he's not a manager. I really hope this doesn't all end in tears and that we get relegated with Les leaving the club permanently but I fear this may happen. Les did a great job in a caretaker capacity but he should never have been given the job full time - it's too much to ask from him when you consider he's also doing his physio stuff as well.

If they wanted to keep it within the managerial team I think Allison should have been given the job as he does have managerial aspirations unlike Les not to mention a list of qualifications a mile long and also comes across to me as the kind of guy who does get the best out of people.

However there is no point in making a change now as it will lead to more upheaval and uncertainty. Hopefully the players will get their act together (as it's their fault as well) and put in some decent performances. If we're going to go down we had better go down with a bang rather than a whimper as we are at the moment. This team is capable of avoiding relegation but the players and the managerial team need to sort themselves out if they are to do so.

As fans we need to give the team 100% backing starting on Friday - calling for the manager/chairman's head or booing is pointless at this stage of the season.

 

[Ian]

So really we should be pinning the blame on the board for getting us into this mess, rather than pointing fingers at Les who's doing the best he can. I just feel Les is getting some harsh criticism because we are know back into the bottom four and it's unfair on the fella.

Blame the idiots upstairs, not the physio who's breaking his back to keep us in this division.

 

[White_Magic]

Les

Ian i agree with you we should be blaming the idiots upstairs.

Number one, they sacked Ronnie at the end of our best season in League 1 with the two prior season seeing us finish 9th and 11th. Number two, in their infinate wisdom they appoint Dumb and Dumber at the start of the season. Number three, we only find finances for three new players with 9 games to go.

Les is doing his best with what he's got, and if we do go down (which i don't think we will) Les will be the last person i will be blaming...

 

[Boz]

While agreeing with the criticisms of the board, my view is Les CAN change things around, but for whatever reason doesn't want to. We have a big enough squad to try different tactics and select other players along with making more use of subs. If Chief/Shaun had some different ideas and Les didn't take them on board, presumably they'd move on, so infer they support current tactics and team selection. At present, it seems like the response to being in a hole is to carry on digging...

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

While agreeing that Les has in recent matches perhaps shown a touch of tactical naivety, I have to disagree with the idea that an experienced manager would necessarily have done any better than him at all. I have said myself in certain games that Mahon or Barnett could have been tried, but these players just offer us something different, not necessarily better: neither of the two mentioned have impressed me at all in the matches they have played under Les or Barnes, and have been poor in the reserves if reports are to be believed.

I come back to a point that has been made many times, namely look at Les's points average and extrapolate to the whole season and we would be heading for safety. That points average has been achieved playing the 4-3-3 system that now, because we haven't won in four, is suddenly being viewed as an utter failure. Any more seasoned manager would have been faced with the same problem as Les, that the budget was blown on mediocre players before he arrived, and that budget was scanty in the first place.

Yes, we have had a very sticky three or four games, but haven't Ferguson and Wenger experienced similar runs at times ? It makes me smile that after the Southampton game Les was hailed as an inspirational figure, and now he is 'just a physio' again. We had no right to expect ANY manager to keep us up with the way we started the season, and that we are not in Stockport's position is a minor miracle.

As regards the talk of Les walking away at the end of the season if we go down, well it doesn't have to happen does it ? If the fans make it clear they want him to stay on as physio I am sure he will, but maybe that isn't likely as the knives seem to be being sharpened already.

 

[SCooperSomersaults]

Les is doing the best he can. As we all know and folks have written on here, he's a physio doing his best to get us out of a mess created by Dumb and Dumber. He's done a great job so far, and yeah, Saturday was poor but we haven't lost 2 on the spin under Mr Parry so who's to say we can't get anything off Norwich on Friday?

Sounds unlikely but that would be Typical Tranmere.

It's time for the players to step up to the plate and be counted for. Take some responsibility and believe in yourselves. Aimless hooves up field are the easy way out, we can actually pass the ball, I know they can! Deep down in those players, there's an ability to pass it and create chances.

I don't necessarily mean mess about with it in dangerous areas, but there has to be an alternative to bottling out by hitting a 60 yard punt up field for Bas and co to chase? Surely.

Come on Rovers, I still believe!

 

[bring back the cowshed!]

I am getting a bit sick of this debate. It won't get us any more points. It won't make anyone feel any better. But it could affect team morale and make Les leave at the end of the season, even if we stay up.

Even if Les was useless, it would be too late to change the manager now. With just nine games to go, can we all please just get behind the manager and the team?

We are all entitled to express our own views, but what good is all this negativity doing? It's all been said many times anyway in nearly every thread after a poor result. I paid £20 to sit in the rain at Brighton on Saturday watching a very poor performance, but I'll still support Les. I'm not blind to his faults, but he's brought us further than we could have hoped and with our full support he could still keep us up.

 

[Boz]

Sorry if you don't like the criticism of Les, but for me it's a two-way street. The manager and players need to lift us, just as the fans need to get behind the team. Most supporters could accept going down, if we do so fighting. But no more abject performances like the last two.