GasHeadGaz
Vita Astafjevs
Joined: June 2014
Posts: 518
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Post by GasHeadGaz on Oct 4, 2014 12:14:39 GMT
FORMER York City manager John Ward believes Bristol Rovers would still be a Football League club if on-loan Bootham Crescent signing Ryan Brunt had not missed the final six months of last season.
Brunt joined the Minstermen for a month this week having fallen out of favour at the Memorial Stadium, where knee problems meant he could only look on as Rovers tumbled into the Conference at the end of 2013/14.
Ex-Minstermen chief Ward, meanwhile, was moved upstairs from the dugout to a director of football role back in late March before being relieved of his duties completely when the Pirates were relegated.
During the previous campaign, though, Brunt had been a key performer as Ward masterminded a revival in Rovers' fortunes from a place at the foot of the table, come Christmas, to a mid-table finish by the end of the season.
Once the ex-Stoke City reserve took residence in the Rovers' treatment room, however, the club's fortunes nosedived with the likes of ex-Minsterman Chris Beardsley, David Clarkson, Ellis Harrison, Matt Harrold and Kaid Mohamed unable to fill his boots.
Ward, who bossed City from 1991 to 1993, said: "If Ryan had been available, I don't think we would have gone down last season. "I've no doubt about that because we tried to get other players in to do what he did for the team and they couldn't. He had also played a major part in the club going from the relegation places to 14th by the end of the previous season."
Lincoln-born Ward reckons, meanwhile, that Brunt will benefit from the guidance of his new team's assistant manager SteveTorpey, believing the 21-year-old forward is a near replica of the player he managed for a year-and-a-half at Bristol City in the last 1990s.
"Ryan's an old-fashioned centre forward, who's 6ft 2in," Ward pointed out. "Steve rang me about a couple of players because York are looking around and doing their homework, which you have to do and, when he asked about Ryan, I said he plays just like you used to do.
"He's a number nine, who brings people into play and has an eye for goal. He did very well for me in my first season at Bristol Rovers and, once he got a few injuries, we missed him.
"From what I've heard, he came back very well in pre-season but Bristol have had a good spell without him in the team.
"They've allowed him to go on loan and I think somebody like Steve will be able to work well with him. It should be a good move for both parties."
Ward added that nobody should be fooled by Brunt's modest goal record.
The Birmingham-born attacker has not netted in any of his last 25 senior outings and only has nine goals to his name from 78 competitive appearances.
But Ward insists that such figures do not paint the whole picture, reasoning: "What doesn't get put on record is how many people he brings into play and how well he holds up the ball.
"Football is very basic in its statistics. I hear talk of teams completing 450 passes and losing 3-0, so you can get bogged down with all that a bit.
"What you want are effective footballers and Ryan is an effective centre-forward, who is a team player. Steve Torpey didn't score lots of goals, but he didn't finish on many losing sides in his career either.
"Ryan also scored twice for us against Port Vale who were in the top four at the time, which showed his true colours. He can out-think opponents, get the ball, move it to somebody else and then get on the end of a cross at the far post."
Ward does feel, however, that the Bootham Crescent faithful might need to display a degree of patience before seeing the best of Brunt, explaining: "He's not played too many League matches, as Steve and Nigel both know, so it might take a game or two for him to get up to full speed, but he's a reliable person who looks after himself."
Ex-Minstermen, Bristol Rovers, Bristol City, Wolves, Cheltenham, Carlisle and Colchester chief Ward, meanwhile, has announced his retirement from management, following a 23-year career, but would still like to return to the game in a different capacity.
"I don't want to manage any more," he said. "I've done that and I think it's a younger man's game, but I would like to work as a coach or director of football.
"The director of football position is a strange one in our country, because people don't seem to get the concept. Some young managers might think you are after their job, but somebody like Lennie Lawrence has done it at Bristol Rovers, Crystal Palace and Bolton now.
"I think young managers can be lost to the game very quickly if they don't do well straight away and that link between them and the board is a useful one. It can also help out in terms of getting players in through contacts that the director of football might have in the game.
"There has to be trust for it to work and that seems the most awkward hurdle in this country but the role does appeal to me."
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dagnogo
Joined: June 2014
Posts: 872
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Post by dagnogo on Oct 4, 2014 12:23:55 GMT
Surprise surprise, Wardy doesn't blame himself. Despite the fact that it was mainly his fault.
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Peter Parker
Global Moderator
Richard Walker
You have been sentenced to DELETION!
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Post by Peter Parker on Oct 4, 2014 12:36:23 GMT
Ah, we would of stayed up of Brunt had been fit.
So why didnt we sign a striker in the transfer window then John?
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puregas
Joined: June 2014
Posts: 90
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Post by puregas on Oct 4, 2014 12:39:41 GMT
Ironically we wouldn't have gone down with the squad we have this year.
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Post by Westcountry Gas on Oct 4, 2014 12:54:14 GMT
Some outrageous s**te coming from Wardy in that interview, i'll re-edit the first sentence.
FORMER York City manager John Ward believes Bristol Rovers would still be a Football League club if he had done the right thing and walked away from the club after a horrific start to the season in which the pirates had only won 2 of the first 14 league games, leaving them 21st in the table only 1 point of the drop zone.
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Post by Somerset Blue on Oct 4, 2014 14:06:53 GMT
sometimes people should learn to shut the f**k up .... delighted for him that he has moved on so quickly having left us in the s**t.
Pompous twat !!
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2014 15:55:07 GMT
Some outrageous s***e coming from Wardy in that interview, i'll re-edit the first sentence. FORMER York City manager John Ward believes Bristol Rovers would still be a Football League club if he had done the right thing and walked away from the club after a horrific start to the season in which the pirates had only won 2 of the first 14 league games, leaving them 21st in the table only 1 point of the drop zone. I'll re-edit the whole thing. [With reputedly one of the highest budgets in a division below where the club ought to be] "I built a squad entirely dependent on a 20 year old: had he not got injured, I believe we would have made the top 22. I would like to be a Director of Football." A good prompt to realise how fetid listening to his nonsense waffle while enduring such dire football was. [No, I didn't want him back].
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dagnogo
Joined: June 2014
Posts: 872
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Post by dagnogo on Oct 4, 2014 16:05:37 GMT
The moment that summed Ward up as a disrespectful plum for me was after we went down, there were fans outside the Exec boxes and he said to the BBC that "Some people just want to have a grumble". You're bloody right they do, John.
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brizzle
Lindsay Parsons
No Buy . . . No Sell!
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 4,293
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Post by brizzle on Oct 4, 2014 16:13:34 GMT
Ah, we would of stayed up of Brunt had been fit. So why didnt we sign a striker in the transfer window then John?Because (according to the interview) . . . . . . so that's alright then?
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2014 16:31:58 GMT
Ah, we would of stayed up of Brunt had been fit. So why didnt we sign a striker in the transfer window then John?Because (according to the interview) . . . . . . so that's alright then? ...and to answer Sprout's point with another re-edit to add in what was left unsaid: 'we tried to get other players in to do what he did for the team and they couldn't, so I gave up on that and sat the transfer window out. I was shoved aside the next day.'
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stargas
Gary Mabbutt
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Post by stargas on Oct 4, 2014 16:32:54 GMT
Brunt played the full 90 mins for York today 0-0 FT
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james83
Joined: August 2014
Posts: 332
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Post by james83 on Oct 4, 2014 17:01:13 GMT
Lmao
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brizzle
Lindsay Parsons
No Buy . . . No Sell!
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 4,293
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Post by brizzle on Oct 4, 2014 17:07:35 GMT
Because (according to the interview) . . . . . . so that's alright then? ...and to answer Sprout's point with another re-edit to add in what was left unsaid: 'we tried to get other players in to do what he did for the team and they couldn't, so I gave up on that and sat the transfer window out. I was shoved aside the next day.' Just a thought Seth, but is your memory 100% accurate on this? Just to confirm that I have no axe to grind for anyone or anything. I just want to see BRFC successful, and I only know what is in the public domain, and I most certainly have no inside knowledge of anyone, anybody or anything. But my memory tells me that despite public prods from the BoD to sign a goalscorer in the transfer window, JW failed to do so . . . for whatever reason. I saw a TV interview on local television in which he was asked about any progress that had been made, and he said that he was waiting in his office for the telephone to ring. This was in reply to a number of enquiries that he had made. In the event as we all now know, no signings were made despite the fact that a number of players changed clubs that would have been a benefit to us. In retrospect JW claimed that no players were prepared to come to the club. It's an easy option to say that he attempted to sign players who would have brought nothing new to the team, but at least he could have appeared to make a visble effort, or at least to have sounded in the slightest bit interested. In my opinion JW had given up the ghost a long while ago, and was hoping for the best . . . with everything crossed, and it didn't pay off for him or us. As for being shoved aside as you put it, I would like to refer you to the circumstances regarding his first departure from BRFC. What goes around comes around, as they say.
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kwoodgas
Joined: September 2014
Posts: 675
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Post by kwoodgas on Oct 4, 2014 17:08:05 GMT
Some outrageous s***e coming from Wardy in that interview, i'll re-edit the first sentence. FORMER York City manager John Ward believes Bristol Rovers would still be a Football League club if he had done the right thing and walked away from the club after a horrific start to the season in which the pirates had only won 2 of the first 14 league games, leaving them 21st in the table only 1 point of the drop zone. Seriously has Wardy massacred your whole family or something? Let's not forget your hero Clarke was an active part of that management team, he's been happy to speak about what was wrong last season but why wasn't he putting his balls on the chopping board when it mattered?
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9b1gas
Joined: June 2014
Posts: 30
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Post by 9b1gas on Oct 4, 2014 17:27:15 GMT
Some outrageous s***e coming from Wardy in that interview, i'll re-edit the first sentence. FORMER York City manager John Ward believes Bristol Rovers would still be a Football League club if he had done the right thing and walked away from the club after a horrific start to the season in which the pirates had only won 2 of the first 14 league games, leaving them 21st in the table only 1 point of the drop zone. Seriously has Wardy massacred your whole family or something? Let's not forget your hero Clarke was an active part of that management team, he's been happy to speak about what was wrong last season but why wasn't he putting his balls on the chopping board when it mattered? He did when Ward threw in the towel in April.
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Post by Westcountry Gas on Oct 4, 2014 17:33:27 GMT
Some outrageous s***e coming from Wardy in that interview, i'll re-edit the first sentence. FORMER York City manager John Ward believes Bristol Rovers would still be a Football League club if he had done the right thing and walked away from the club after a horrific start to the season in which the pirates had only won 2 of the first 14 league games, leaving them 21st in the table only 1 point of the drop zone. Seriously has Wardy massacred your whole family or something? Let's not forget your hero Clarke was an active part of that management team, he's been happy to speak about what was wrong last season but why wasn't he putting his balls on the chopping board when it mattered? John Ward's inept management that resulted in our relegation last season has nothing to do with me or my family, I've simply pointed out over recent months some of his pi** poor decisions and shocking results that left DC in the middle of the ocean with no paddles when he took over. DC was no part of Wards management team, Wardy was his own man and DC was there like a kid on work experience with limited if any input allowed. Actually DC was coaching our defence last season which racked up a superb amount of clean sheets for a relegated team.
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GasHeadGaz
Vita Astafjevs
Joined: June 2014
Posts: 518
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Post by GasHeadGaz on Oct 4, 2014 17:54:17 GMT
Seriously has Wardy massacred your whole family or something? Let's not forget your hero Clarke was an active part of that management team, he's been happy to speak about what was wrong last season but why wasn't he putting his balls on the chopping board when it mattered? John Ward's inept management that resulted in our relegation last season has nothing to do with me or my family, I've simply pointed out over recent months some of his pi** poor decisions and shocking results that left DC in the middle of the ocean with no paddles when he took over. DC was no part of Wards management team, Wardy was his own man and DC was there like a kid on work experience with limited if any input allowed. Actually DC was coaching our defence last season which racked up a superb amount of clean sheets for a relegated team. Top post, especially the DC part. I said he should have been sacked after the Mansfield away game Oct/Nov time. I was shot to pieces on the old forum because of it. Not saying we would have stayed up, but the chances were a hell of a lot better without him, than with him.
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2014 18:04:05 GMT
...and to answer Sprout's point with another re-edit to add in what was left unsaid: 'we tried to get other players in to do what he did for the team and they couldn't, so I gave up on that and sat the transfer window out. I was shoved aside the next day.' Just a thought Seth, but is your memory 100% accurate on this? Just to confirm that I have no axe to grind for anyone or anything. I just want to see BRFC successful, and I only know what is in the public domain, and I most certainly have no inside knowledge of anyone, anybody or anything. But my memory tells me that despite public prods from the BoD to sign a goalscorer in the transfer window, JW failed to do so . . . for whatever reason. I saw a TV interview on local television in which he was asked about any progress that had been made, and he said that he was waiting in his office for the telephone to ring. This was in reply to a number of enquiries that he had made. In the event as we all now know, no signings were made despite the fact that a number of players changed clubs that would have been a benefit to us. In retrospect JW claimed that no players were prepared to come to the club. It's an easy option to say that he attempted to sign players who would have brought nothing new to the team, but at least he could have appeared to make a visble effort, or at least to have sounded in the slightest bit interested. In my opinion JW had given up the ghost a long while ago, and was hoping for the best . . . with everything crossed, and it didn't pay off for him or us. As for being shoved aside as you put it, I would like to refer you to the circumstances regarding his first departure from BRFC. What goes around comes around, as they say. Sorry, either you've misread or I wasn't clear. Sprout noted that his self eulogy skipped why he didn't fix the problem in the transfer window. You (astutely) noted that he had said that his attempts to replace the irreplaceable 20 year old proved fruitless, proving that he was indeed irreplaceable and that he was therefore blameless. Fancy that. Not really an answer though is it, and the whitewash is a bit thin because that was all before the transfer window. What I added, to add to his story, was that, come the transfer window, he didn't even bother to try (to replace Brunt or maybe construct a Plan B) and sat the thing out. After all, he was confident we'd finish in the top 22 so why bother? Not as if we might be trying to build something here or maybe even reach mid table, is it? As for the 'shoved aside' that was also part of the fictional edit for what he really ought to have said, because that was in no small part a verdict on his complacency and arrogance, which ought to be included in his pitch for any spare Director of Football jobs going. That was the point I was trying to make. I think we agree. Sorry if that wasn't clear.
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brizzle
Lindsay Parsons
No Buy . . . No Sell!
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 4,293
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Post by brizzle on Oct 4, 2014 18:26:12 GMT
Just a thought Seth, but is your memory 100% accurate on this? Just to confirm that I have no axe to grind for anyone or anything. I just want to see BRFC successful, and I only know what is in the public domain, and I most certainly have no inside knowledge of anyone, anybody or anything. But my memory tells me that despite public prods from the BoD to sign a goalscorer in the transfer window, JW failed to do so . . . for whatever reason. I saw a TV interview on local television in which he was asked about any progress that had been made, and he said that he was waiting in his office for the telephone to ring. This was in reply to a number of enquiries that he had made. In the event as we all now know, no signings were made despite the fact that a number of players changed clubs that would have been a benefit to us. In retrospect JW claimed that no players were prepared to come to the club. It's an easy option to say that he attempted to sign players who would have brought nothing new to the team, but at least he could have appeared to make a visble effort, or at least to have sounded in the slightest bit interested. In my opinion JW had given up the ghost a long while ago, and was hoping for the best . . . with everything crossed, and it didn't pay off for him or us. As for being shoved aside as you put it, I would like to refer you to the circumstances regarding his first departure from BRFC. What goes around comes around, as they say. Sorry, either you've misread or I wasn't clear. Sprout noted that his self eulogy skipped why he didn't fix the problem in the transfer window. You (astutely) noted that he had said that his attempts to replace the irreplaceable 20 year old proved fruitless, proving that he was indeed irreplaceable and that he was therefore blameless. Fancy that. Not really an answer though is it, and the whitewash is a bit thin because that was all before the transfer window. What I added, to add to his story, was that, come the transfer window, he didn't even bother to try (to replace Brunt or maybe construct a Plan B) and sat the thing out. After all, he was confident we'd finish in the top 22 so why bother? Not as if we might be trying to build something here or maybe even reach mid table, is it? As for the 'shoved aside' that was also part of the fictional edit for what he really ought to have said, because that was in no small part a verdict on his complacency and arrogance, which ought to be included in his pitch for any spare Director of Football jobs going. That was the point I was trying to make. I think we agree. Sorry if that wasn't clear. On the contrary, my apologies to you for going off half-cocked . . . yet again. And the sad part is that I don't seem to improve with age. But in my defence it has been another stressful day in the life of BRFC. Regards.
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2014 18:31:23 GMT
Seriously has Wardy massacred your whole family or something? Let's not forget your hero Clarke was an active part of that management team, he's been happy to speak about what was wrong last season but why wasn't he putting his balls on the chopping board when it mattered? John Ward's inept management that resulted in our relegation last season has nothing to do with me or my family, I've simply pointed out over recent months some of his pi** poor decisions and shocking results that left DC in the middle of the ocean with no paddles when he took over. DC was no part of Wards management team, Wardy was his own man and DC was there like a kid on work experience with limited if any input allowed. Actually DC was coaching our defence last season which racked up a superb amount of clean sheets for a relegated team. I am finding it difficult to understand your post,firstly you sday DC had no input into the team last season,then you say he was responsible for the coaching of the defence,the 2 comments do not sit well together,and also as i keep reminding you,it was you who was hounding JW from before the end of the previous season,despite the recovery he inspired.Me thinks you speak with forked tongue
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