Pressure building on JB

Article from the local rag: https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport...ws/signs-ominous-joey-barton-huge-5940537.amp

The verdict of Bristol Live's Rovers fan columnist Benji Deane as things went from bad to worse for the Gas and Joey Barton on Saturday.

Bad turned to worse for Bristol Rovers as they were punished by Leyton Orient on Saturday. Frustration turned into anger on the terraces this week as the storm clouds gathered in their numbers.

This game was supposed to be the turning point again. If Hartlepool was the type of stalemate game we were supposed to edge out to achieve promotion, then home fixtures like Orient need to be a given. Rovers had done the hard work building the Mem up to be a tough place to come, with wins against Cheltenham, Oldham and Crawley. But they undid all that effort in 41 first-half minutes on Saturday.

The response that was needed was nowhere to be seen. Rovers started the half at a trot and allowed Orient to canter. We need to hit teams on the front foot early on but failed miserably. In doing so, we allowed them to settle and play their game without challenge. Without fight, without heart and without desire. The grit and determination needed to be a Rovers player was missing from every one of the starting XI.

The players looked lost and as if they were playing without a purpose. Last week I wrote how I was oblivious to our playing style. This week, I’m convinced there is none. Rovers cannot produce a consistent style of football and the only discernible tactic is the long ball. But we play that tactic without a number nine too often and it failed to work again today with Brett Pitman's lack of mobility meaning he watched the game pass him by.

Josh Grant said before the game that they are starting to see things they’re practicing on the training pitch come off. But what are they? I have no idea. To win football matches, you must have shots on target. There were none until Brett Pitman’s scarcely-deserved consolation penalty. The stats show we had 9 shots, but I can hardly remember any. The ironic cheers that greeted Finley’s late long-range effort tell you all you need to know.

The interval provided welcome relief from the siege we’d been under and the restart was the opportunity to undo the damage. But we did little again to show we were better than that first-half performance. We were held deep in our own half and had no creativity until late on. Orient had the game in the bag without breaking a sweat and I’m angry we didn’t make them work for it after the break. They controlled the game with little effort and we barely looked like troubling Lawrence Vigoroux in the away goal.

Luke Thomas improved us, but his colleagues were found wanting. Harvey Saunders, desperate to make up for his error against Hartlepool, resembled a Duracell bunny once more and didn’t stop harrying defenders. Unfortunately for Thomas and Saunders, their teammates couldn’t muster the same determination they had. Sixty per cent of the ball and all we had to show for it was a 92nd-minute penalty.

Joey Barton has often hindered our progress through his mismanagement of the team. He has changed formation frequently, played square pegs in round holes and hasn’t selected a consistent starting XI. All of these things prevent cohesion and that in turn prevents us from making any progress in the league. We have the players to succeed – on paper, our team is one of the best in the league. But we thought the same last year right?

I still think though that a team with Nicholson, Collins, Thomas, Finley, Taylor, Belshaw/Jaakkola and the rest of the experience we have should be more than good enough. So that brings the manager further into the spotlight if he can’t get them working together.

The Rovers manager was delusional in his words after the match. I sat in disbelief as he started the presser by claiming that there wasn’t that much in it on Saturday. Was he watching a different game? We were 3-0 down at half time, gifting the opposition their offensive position and made mistake after mistake.

His comments sparked laughter and fury in equal measure and he grew similar responses again when he tried to turn a horror show into a positive, pointing out we won the second half. We lost the game and he should have been less bullish in his remarks, which was further evident when he repeated his promotion rhetoric. He surely has to regret claiming he’ll get us promoted this season when all that is between us and non-league are Scunthorpe and Oldham.

The same interview fueled my own fears that he doesn’t know what he’s doing. He recruited his own group of players, which would of course take time to settle in, but he claimed he still doesn’t know his best team. How can you not have an idea of your best players when you signed them all? The manager usually knows best, but the qualities of individuals are so obvious and yet he seems not to know who works best in what position.

A look at Twitter after the game and it was clear the tide had turned against Barton after our fifth loss in the league in eight games this year. He needs to step up and take responsibility, not tell fans to support the team as he did on his lap around the Thatchers Terrace. We’re doing just that, but it’s increasingly tough to support a team that is falling miserably short of the required standards under his leadership.

I’m starting to wonder too if there are problems elsewhere in the club. Since the much revered days of Darrell Clarke and Graham Coughlan, three straight managers have failed to turn Rovers around. Two of those managers, both inexperienced, were given free rein to tear up the status quo and implement their own ideas. To Wael Al-Qadi’s credit, he has backed every manager that walked into BS7 and loves the club dearly. But you have to question whether or not he has surrounded himself with the right team at the top.

The results speak for themselves. Nineteen losses in 28 games is enough to get a manager sacked twice over. A win percentage of 17 per cent – worse than his two predecessors – is abysmal. There are no green shoots on the pitch and progress has reversed. Rovers are third-bottom of the 92. The stands are angrier and emptier with each passing game. Fans have been promised the world and received nothing.

The signs are ominous for Barton and you have to wonder how long he has left. As he said in his post-match interview, the clock is ticking if you don’t win games. Barton needs to win at Walsall next week to ensure his time at Rovers doesn’t run out.

 

What a great read, only because it is exactly how I feel but a terrible read because how true it is and what a sorry state we are in.

 

Speaking as someone that was prepared to overlook his 'murky' past, ignore the upcoming court case(s) and give him whole hearted support in his quest to turn us into a half decent football team again, I am of the same opinion as Benji Deane now - enough is enough!! I'm afraid JB has had more than enough opportunity and chances to show us some hope for the future, but for whatever reason, it hasn't worked, whether that be his fault or some other reason, I would not like to speculate, but the bottom line as far as I'm concerned now is win against Walsall or it's 'on your bike'. We simply can't carry on like this, and the rot needs to be stopped before we reach the point of no return. I would say Saturday is his last chance saloon. As we lose most games anyway, how can we do worse without him?

 

I still believe if the support JB has been give had been given to BG we would still be in league 1

 

You need to get rid of that thug. He’s a disgrace to mankind, not just football - or your club - but I’m sure I’m not saying anything you don’t already know.

 

To be honest, I thought the BP article was a bit wide of the mark. It wasn't a great result, but we had 9 shots at goal compared to Orient's 7, and both sides scored from their only shots on target. We also had 60% of the possession, which is supposed to be a good thing. WLDWWLL isn't actually too bad, and just a couple of decent results and we'll be right up the table. I wouldn't get too doom & gloom just yet, even though Walsall is definitely quite an important game. If the lads turn up and get a result then I'm sure the atmosphere will change. Never wanted Barton, don't really want him now, but all this chopping and changing is usually disastrous. I thought Garner went far too soon, and I reckon he would have kept us up.

 

While I agree with some of what you say, people are understandably concerned at our appalling start to the season - 8 games played, 2 wins, 1 draw and 5 defeats, plus we've conceded over twice the number of goals we've scored, have a goal difference of -7 already, and the only thing between us and oblivion are Scunthorpe and Oldham. Lose at Walsall, and we will be in real trouble, and yes I know a couple of wins will fire us up the table, but to be honest, those wins seem a long way away at the moment. As regards Garner, you may well be right about his methods coming good for us in the end, but like Barton, how long can we afford to let bad results keep rolling in on the off chance that things might eventually gel?

 

I didn't watch the game. I had the game on the radio in the background while doing other things. We never created anything going by the commentary and those shots off target never came close to being on target. The only shot on target for us was our penalty so if it wasn't for the ref giving us that penalty, we would have had zero shots on target. Having possession is great. Only though when you are doing something with it. Passing it sideways and backwards a lot because they had no idea what to do with it and then they smash the ball long to give the ball away - is not a good thing. Barton has won 18 points from a possible 78 available in his league games since he has joined. Do I like us chopping and changing every 5 minutes? Nope. But I rather that than let his form of 18 points from 78 available continue because it will continue.

 

Only Martin Dobson and Dave Penney are probably worse - the stats don't lie. But I just think the stats over the past 7 games show a marked improvement, and it would be a shame to throw things into turmoil yet again just as things start to turn the corner. They might as well let him take us all the way to mid table mediocrity, because I don't think he'll get us relegated again.

 

Like you said, stats don't lie so being 22nd shows relegation is a big possibility.

 

Gastro we well might have had more possession than Orient and more shots than Orient but they obviously had more idea of what to do with the possession they had. Our only shot on target was the penalty whereas they scored 3 from their 7 on target and if we can't get a penalty on target then someone or something really has to change

 

A decent result at Walsall and everything will feel fine again for a while.

 

We keep making errors at the back, especially on set pieces. We've only kept 3 clean sheets in JB's 26 league games. So I can't see a clean sheet.
We've failed to score in 13 of JB's 26 league games. We have less strikers now than when JB arrived. We have injuries to 50% of our strikers leaving an unfit old Pitman with a lack of wing play again due to injuries. We've now lost Luke Thomas to injury on top of everyone else. I cannot see who will score our goals.

So, we are more likely to concede and less likely to score = a defeat.

On top of that, JB hasn't won a single away game since he has joined and we haven't won away in our last 19 away games.

I really admire your optimism Gastro, I really do. I just can't see anything else than a negative result. I would snap your hand off for a draw right now if offered.

 

I suppose one way to look at it is that you are still only 5 points off the play-offs!
Sometimes just one result can turn things around

 

BBC

Rovers' poor marking was exposed again four minutes before half-time, with Aaron Drinan rising unmarked in the centre of the box to power home James' right-wing cross.
Brett Pitman reduced the arrears from the penalty spot with a fierce shot in stoppage time after a foul on Harvey Saunders.
But it did not stop home fans chanting "what a load of rubbish" at the final whistle
Joey Barton's much-altered team are failing to improve on the form that brought relegation last season.
They failed to force a single testing save from visiting keeper Lawrence Vigouroux

Give Joey a chance, he's not so bad

 

That was a good performance as well as a good result. So that's WLDWWLLW with two winnable home games coming up. I'm sure we'll be fine, and may even go on a bit of a run now. On the bright side, a few decent players who are injured will be coming back so things will probably improve.

 

You called it. Im still in shock we actually won!

 

Swindon aren't on a great run, nor are Carlisle or Bradford. So I think there are a few more points to be had over the next few games.

 

Don't forget, one swallow doesn't make a summer.

 

Read a comment from the local Swindon reporter and he said that they hoped Swindon would win and JB would get the sack, well they won and they have a good defensive record, which is more than we can say, I think they should make Swindon an offer they can't refuse for BG and get rid of joey it's not my fault Barton