Ben Garner appointed as manager this morning. He was a coach at Crystal Palace working under Ian Holloway Neil Warnoch Tony Pulis ad Alan Pardew. He was part of Ian Holloways coaching when Palace won promotion to the Premier league in 2013. He worked in India recently has signed a 2 1/2 year contract and starts his career with us on boxing day against AFC Wimbledon. More details on bristol rovers news
According to sky transfer news our new manager was mentored by Jose Mourinho Hopefully some of these links will help with future signings permanent or loans
I thought your board would be buzzing with this. Is everyone still Christmas shopping or pee'd at the Office Christmas party? Have to say never heard of the guy although the people he has worked with is like a who's who of ex Argyle managers. By the way, Paul Sturrock mentored Mourinho when he was doing his badges. It got us diddly squat as a favour. Sounds ok though.
I wasn't around much yesterday and I didn't find out about this news until gone 11pm last night Personally, I am 50 50 on this. Excited as he sounds like he has good experience with coaching and that can only help during training and on match days with his tactics. He has a good line of managers that he has worked with and that would be good too as he has obviously learned a lot. But I am also worried. He has no managerial experience. I know any appointment is a gamble. But this appointment is more of a gamble than hiring someone who actually has had manager experience. I guess its watch this space to see how this works out but in the meantime get behind him!
Bristol Rovers Football Club is pleased to announce the appointment of Ben Garner as the new First Team Manager. Garner has a strong pedigree in the game, having spent his coaching career at the highest level and signs a two and a half year deal at the Mem. Starting his career with Crystal Palace’s Academy, Garner developed a strong reputation for developing young players and was promoted to the first-team staff under the guidance of Ian Holloway. While working with Holloway, Garner was part of the coaching at Selhurst Park that won promotion to the Premier League in 2013. Garner continued to work for the likes of Neil Warnock, Tony Pulis and Alan Pardew during his time at Crystal Palace, helping maintain the South-London outfit as an established top-flight side, before leaving the club in 2015. It was at West Bromwich Albion where Garner re-joined Tony Pulis later on that year, working alongside the former Rovers player as his Assistant Manager at the Hawthorns and helping the Midlands club to a 10th place finish in the Premier League. Most recently, Garner was Assistant Head Coach for Indian Super League Club, ATK, working alongside Steve Coppell. The 39-year-old will join the club immediately, with his first game in charge of the first-team being our Sky Bet League One fixture on Boxing Day at the Mem against AFC Wimbledon. Speaking about the appointment, CEO Martyn Starnes commented: "Ben was the outstanding candidate for the role and someone who really stood out to us during the interview process and we are delighted that he has agreed terms to become the first-team Manager. It was a meticulous process undertaken in order to appoint a replacement for Graham Coughlan and we are confident that we have found the right Manager to progress the club moving forward. Ben has a wealth of experience in the game and we look forward to supporting Ben is his role here at the club. Ben has a great record of working with younger players and we are keen for the close ties between the first-team and Academy to be expanded further, showcasing a pathway for young players. As part of our discussions with Ben around the role and the shared expectations, we have devised a plan to ensure that the good work achieved during the first half of the season is continued into the New Year, with the collective vision of helping the club push for the highest league finish as possible." Club President, Wael Al-Qadi added: “I’m delighted to welcome Ben to the club and wish him every success in the role. I’m sure that the fans will get behind Ben and the team as they look to resume the fine form achieved over recent weeks.” Kevin Maher (First Team Coach), Adrian Tucker (Goalkeeper Coach) and Lee Mansell (Development Squad Manager) will all continue to work as part of Ben’s backroom staff.
Im glad the backroom staff will be remaining. We've lost Coughlan and Dunne, so keeping the rest of the staff will add continuity to the squad. However, I am worried about Starnes interview. I am be reading it wrong when he said the collective vision is to help the club push for the highest league position possible. I would have been more optimistic if he had said the collective vision is to help the club secure a top 6 finish and continue fighting for a top 2 finish. We are not ready for a promotion. Look at our stadium. Lot at the funds that we spend. Clubs spend millions in the championship just to survive in that league. But if we ain't trying for promotion then what is the point in trying! I just read what Starnes said as I don't think he wants to finish top 6 but would be happy to finish 7th - 10th. A good respectable position for our budget but the way I see it is we have not been this close to the top 2 for years and years in this division so why give this chance up??
