Quote: Old Timer No 4 "Well, after no concrete news re. our coaches future the rumours were bound to start, and here we go. As "reported" in the Fail, Anthony Seibold being lined up "IF" TS departs elsewhere. Oh No!! Lets hope the rumours are wrong. After years of so so, and false dawns, the club has a real buzz about it, due in no part to the coach, not forgetting the owner of course and Paul Lakin.
I would hope that TS knows if he wants to stay or not by now and think it's time to decide. Players need to know, the club needs to know, and long time suffering supporters need to know. He,s done a fantastic job, and it would be gutting if everything that has been built so far has one of it,s foundations removed at a crucial time. He has got to make the right choice for him and his family, lets just hope it,s to stay with the Robins and not go somewhere else. Not now, not just yet.'"
I was speaking to a pal of mine at the weekend who has in the past sponsored Rovers. He said to me that there had been some disagreement between Tony Smith and the CEO regarding certain areas that Tony wanted more say. If this turns out to be true, the people at board level need a good shake in my view.
I've supported Rovers for almost 55 years now, ever since my uncle took me as a young toddler back in the 1960s . During that time I've seen it all. The reasonably good times, the very good times and the not so good times, plus the absolute desperate times. I had been a yearly pass holder for 36 years right up to 2017 when I felt the club were taking the micky and were going around in circles, with poor signings, poor coaches and no real changes looking likely. Then finally, in came a man (Tony Smith) who was like a breath of fresh air. He slowly but surely went about changing not just the style of play but also the culture at the club, something he had already done at every club he'd been at previously. He changed it so much, that in 2021 I actually started to watch them again when I could due to covid. The style in which he had the team playing became a joy to watch, so much so that at the end of last season I decided t purchase a pass once again for 2022. Since attending matches this year I saw for the first time in a very long time the change in players attitudes that Tony Smith had brought about, just as he had done at his previous clubs. Then came the announcement that we had bought the ground. I thought to myself....At last everything is falling into place. We have a fantastic coach, our own ground and potentially a great future ahead of us. Now this bombshell today, has in my opinion fractured all that previous hard work.
If the rumours are to be believed and there has been a fallout between the CEO and Tony Smith, the clubs board should be ashamed. In Tony Smith we are talking about a man that has left every club he's been at in a much better position from when he first took charge of them. If he wanted to have a greater say in certain matters that might have benefited Rovers in the long run, he should in my view have been granted that extra input. After all, if it was for the good of the club which I definitely believe it would have been, what was the problem? I'm absolutely gutted by this news as I know most Rovers fans are. In my view it is a massive backward step for the club and one that will surely come back to bite them on the rear end in the future. I'm quite sure of one thing. Rovers wont find another coach that offers so much potential, and has changed the playing style as well as the culture of the club for the better in a relatively short time. What's equally concerning is the possibility that some out of contract players may follow him out of the door as he is well respected by all the current players. Plus what effect will it have on future recruitment? as many potential signings would have been coming on the proviso that Tony Smith would be their coach. At the moment after hearing this news I honestly feel like packing it in again, withdrawing my pass and calling it a day after all these years. I'm not sure I can any longer support a club that seems hell bent on shooting itself in the foot at every opportunity.
