Football Rovers will hope Garner’s successor can hit the ground running
BEN Garner’s successor as Bristol Rovers boss will have to get down to work quickly, with several issues requiring immediate attention.
The Gas are assessing candidates to replace the 40-year-old, who was sacked on Saturday after the 4-1 defeat to Fleetwood Town which dropped Rovers to 18th in League One.
In many ways it is an appealing job, particularly with the new training ground open and club president Wael Al-Qadi now in sole charge.
But there are several things the new manager will need to put right swiftly if Rovers are to turn their form around and climb the table.
Chance creation
Rovers are rock bottom of League One for shots per game, averaging just 8.5 per 90 minutes. That figure, married with the fact Rovers average only 2.9 shots on target per game - fourth worst in the division - is just not good enough.
Rovers are creating an average of 1.12 expected goals (xG) per league game, and have converted at slightly lower rate of exactly one goal per 90 minutes.
And it has been getting worse. The xG return in the past four league games has been 0.5, 0.88, 0.55 and 0.66 respectively.
But you don’t need complex statistical models to tell you this. Rovers have not exactly been an exciting watch this season and the moments of success they have enjoyed have been the product of opportunism or rare glimpses of imagination.
What they have in control of possession, they lack in penetration. There is plenty to like about Brandon Hanlan and James Daly, and they’ve done well feeding off scraps.
Garner’s successor has to get them better service in the final third. If he succeeds in that, Rovers should climb the table quickly.
Mentality
There are two aspects here the new boss needs to address quickly: mentality on the ball and coping with adversity that is out of the team’s control.
Rovers have been too safe in possession all season. The recruitment of this squad was tailored to playing a slick passing game which has not materialised.
The players shoulder plenty of burden here. They need to discover the confidence and arrogance required to demand the ball and move it quickly.
Josh Grant’s superbly-worked consolation goal on Saturday is evidence the squad has the ability, and the new manager needs to ensure that mentality is prevalent in every game.
In terms of overcoming adversity, the two games that spring to mind here are likely the ones that contributed most to Garner’s departure: the 4-1 defeats to Doncaster Rovers and Fleetwood Town.
At the Keepmoat Stadium, doubtless some dodgy refereeing made life hard for Rovers and they meekly crumbled to a heavy defeat.
And on Saturday, in admittedly difficult conditions, Rovers handled the wind and rain in schoolboy fashion.
Rovers have showed great resilience in some games this season, but that has been when they have something to hang on to.
When they go behind, and the going gets tough, they have not yet proven capable of responding appropriately. This must be a primary area of focus for the new boss.
Flaky set-piece defending
Rovers’ 19 total goals conceded is not far off the worst defensive record in the division, conceding 1.7 goals per game.
It is going to be hard to win many games defending like that, but set pieces in particular are a big concern.
Rovers have shipped six goals from set plays in League One, the third-worst record in the division, and they conceded another from a badly-defended corner against Fleetwood.
It is not only in defence that Rovers need to improve from dead balls, either. Garner said he worked heavily on attacking set pieces, but they have only yielded two goals this term.
Set pieces are an area where the new manager can improve Rovers quickly.
The Josh Barrett situation
Josh Barrett arrived in January with expectations that he would make an immediate impact on the team.
For whatever reason, it has not clicked amid concerns from Garner over his fitness levels which have seen him training with the under
23s since a hamstring injury in preseason, but the change of regime provides all players with a clean slate.
Barrett is clearly a talented player and he can still become valuable for the Gas. Changes in managers often see players return from exile with determination to make an impact.
Garner’s successor must quickly get to the bottom of the situation and make a decision on reintegrating the player or moving on.
A new favourite has emerged atop the betting markets for Rovers’ next manager, with Paul Tisdale rated an odds-on chance by the bookmakers. The former Exeter City and MK Dons boss was 6/1 on
Monday morning, but the markets have shifted and Tisdale, who had a spell with Bristol City in 1997-98, was last night a 1/5 favourite to get the job. Previous favourite Tommy Widdrington, Rovers’ head of recruitment, is in caretaker charge but has drifted out to 8/1.
The odds, according to The Sack Race yesterday, were: Paul Tisdale - 1/5 Michael Flynn - 8/1 Tommy Widdrington - 8/1 Nigel Adkins - 25/1 Graham Alexander - 25/1 Gary Bowyer - 25/1 Gary Caldwell - 25/1 Sol Campbell - 25/1 Paul Cook - 25/1 Steve Cotterill - 25/1 Danny Cowley - 25/1 Darren Currie - 25/1 Shaun Derry - 25/1 Michael Duff - 25/1 Robbie Fowler - 25/1 Simon Grayson - 25/1 Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink - 25/1 Paul Heckingbottom - 25/1 Clint Hill - 25/1 Keith Hill - 25/1 Ian Holloway - 25/1 Paul Ince - 25/1 Michael Jolley - 25/1 Dino Maamria - 25/1 Kevin Nolan - 25/1 Neil Redfearn - 25/1 Russell Slade - 25/1 David Unsworth - 25/1