Credit where credit is due

[highweekgull]

I for one have some gripes about some things the board does but I think they must take some if the credit for our recent success

Continuity is so very important in football and by sticking by buckle during some if the less well thought out strategies and times if less success, we had a steady platform from which to achieve

Hire and fire boards never succeed and players and playing staff need that continuity to achieve

I'm hoping in 4 years time we still gave the manager we appoint this week coming - that for me will be a success and looking at the potential candidates at least half if them are actually a step forward in my eyes...(ie one of the best things mr buckle has done for us)

[stefano]

I agree Highweek the board have got to take credit for the way they pulled our club out of the mire when we got relegated to the Conference and they ensured continuity and ultimately some success by sticking with Paul Buckle during difficult times. We had several long runs without a win during his 4 seasons with us and many a board would have shown him the door, perhaps particularly in our 2nd season in the Conference when we started badly and looked as if we could be battling relegation rather than challenging for promotion. Thankfully they did stick by him and he did get us promoted that season, no easy feat as clubs like Luton Town, Mansfield Town, Wrexham, and Cambridge United are finding (and no doubt Stockport County and Lincoln City will be added to that list next season).

I too am not down at the moment. We reached the play-offs last season and we have the basis of a good solid squad of players under contract. With PB moving on to take on a bigger challenge I am very hopeful that our new manager will prove to be better than our last. I have always been impressed with the way PB took us from a newly relegated Conference team to the League 2 play-offs in 4 seasons on a miniscule budget, but I also recognised the limitations when we were under pressure in the big games (including Exeter play-off, Crawley cup, and Stevenage play-off) where there never did seem to be a Plan B and PB on the touchline resembled a rabbit caught in car headlights.

I wish him well for what he did for us, but I feel that Bristol Rovers board and fans will not be as patient as we were.

As for players and backroom staff going with him that is always to be expected when a manager leaves. Our new manager will want to appoint his own backroom staff in any case and without doubt players will appear who he has had previous connections with. The right contacts is the important thing for me in the appointment of our new manager, as he will have to call in some favours and wheel and deal in order to operate effectively on our budget.

Whoever our board appoints, let's just make sure we all give him a warm welcome and get behind him from the start.