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    New manager appointed
    Tranmere Rovers have appointed Darrell Clarke as the club’s new manager.
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New manager - Darrell Clarke

Interesting that Bristol Rovers supporters still speak very highly of Clarke, despite things turning very sour for him there last season.
 
The slight concern I have is that he walked into a struggling squad (Bristol Rovers) for his second stint to try and rebuild as they were on an awful run having just been relegated and the team were just as bad. Awful defence, couldn't score goals.. sound familiar? Also likes a 352 :unsure:

To be fair, he did inherit a terrible squad and I don't know what resources were given to him but due to our current fragile state, it does worry me a bit.
 
According to chatgpt

He wasn’t starved of resources, at least not publicly. Bristol Rovers actually talked it up as a properly backed rebuild.


The chairman said Clarke was being backed “fully and completely; with resources, with structure, and with time” after relegation, and the club had brought in Ricky Martin as Director of Football to lead a strategic overhaul of the football operation.


Clarke himself also said the club was very different from the one he left in 2018. He specifically praised the training facilities, saying they were “top end of League One”, and said Rovers now had “nowhere near” the lack of resources he had in his first spell.


In squad terms, they did give him bodies. Rovers said they made 14 summer signings: nine permanent signings and five loans, covering all areas of the squad. The club described themselves as among League Two’s busiest sides on deadline day.


So the fair answer is: he was given a lot more backing than he had first time around, but maybe not necessarily quality backing. A busy window is not always a good window. They signed plenty, but it looks like the recruitment did not create a balanced side: they ended up leaky defensively, short of goals, and once confidence went, the squad did not have enough leaders or reliability to stop the slide.
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Ian said:
ATTTM currently live streaming, always a good listen, not sure about that Dave character though, talks nonsense..

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A very interesting interview with Phil Bowers, who knows Darrell Clarke and Andy Crosby well from their time at Port Vale. He rates Clarke a lot more than Crosby.
 
I for one, hopes that DC, is still the manager in two years as if he is then in my view he will have been a success and brought some needed continuation to the club,as you will never achieve promotion or success by chopping and changing the manager, every few months the way Rovers had ovet the ladt couple of seasons. We just need to get behind him and give him time to build his squad. I would say the way things are still going on, I would be very happy to finish anywhere between twelfth and fifteenth next season and hoping for a higher finish the season after, unless he happened to.be very lucky and unearthed a couple of gems and we finished higher.
 
Alun said:
I for one, hopes that DC, is still the manager in two years as if he is then in my view he will have been a success and brought some needed continuation to the club,as you will never achieve promotion or success by chopping and changing the manager, every few months the way Rovers had ovet the ladt couple of seasons. We just need to get behind him and give him time to build his squad. I would say the way things are still going on, I would be very happy to finish anywhere between twelfth and fifteenth next season and hoping for a higher finish the season after, unless he happened to.be very lucky and unearthed a couple of gems and we finished higher.
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I heard that Stockport have improved their league position for 13 seasons in a row, which may be a world record for a professional club. We seem to be trying to achieve the opposite! Oh, just for one season of improvement...
 
ONIGP said:
I heard that Stockport have improved their league position for 13 seasons in a row, which may be a world record for a professional club. We seem to be trying to achieve the opposite! Oh, just for one season of improvement...
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Not sure many would go further their starting point!
 
We have had these optimistic managerial appointments far took often in the last decade a,so I won't commit myself about what season we will have. After all , even tho he has been named as manager, I suspect he is head coach in reality and wi l be stifled by the palios effect as we have been tested to far too many times since 2015.
Don't get too excited we still have too sub standard playaers
 
Keith Hill (Bolton) said:
We have had these optimistic managerial appointments far took often in the last decade a,so I won't commit myself about what season we will have. After all , even tho he has been named as manager, I suspect he is head coach in reality and wi l be stifled by the palios effect as we have been tested to far too many times since 2015.
Don't get too excited we still have too sub standard playaers
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You are right to be sceptical, KH. Of the 17 permanent managers who have been appointed this century, only three have lasted more than two years - Micky Mellon (first spell), Ronnie Moore (second spell) and Les Parry! As remarked earlier, if Darrell lasts two years, he will be doing well - as presumably will the team.
 
Crystal Palace's Conference League victory means we may have to play a preliminary round to qualify for the League Cup proper next season.
 
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roverstillidie said:
Interesting appointment, I wouldn’t read much into the 2 year deal re takeover - any manager coming in would demand that given the possibility of being sacked by new owners.

If he's still here in 18 months he will have been a success, given the string of failed appointments recently.

Think a few harsh comments on Smith, he declined a bit, but given the chaos and constant chopping and changing, plus the farcical goalkeeper situation, it’s hardly a surprise. Also chipped in with some important goals.
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Also you never know if he was playing with a knock. Seems the type of player who would be hard to keep down.
 
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Rockford's Love Child said:
Crystal Palace's Conference League victory means we may have to play a preliminary round to qualify for the League Cup proper next season.
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No may about it and as we are the second most southern, it appears we will stay southern until beaten, not long probably.
 
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