I may be alone, but I'm actually looking forward to football under Roy. Three reasons:

1. He has many more creative, skillful players at his disposal than he did two years ago. A more developed Eze, Olise, two centre backs who can play a pass, Lokonga, Doucoure, Ahamada, Hughes, etc. Roy has always been a coach who's been able to tailor the suit to fit the cloth; he got Fulham to a European final. With the comparative riches talent-wise at his disposal this time around, I don't expect he'll give us a rinse, repeat of 2021.

2. The football under PV this year was absolutely turgid. Performances can't possibly get any less enjoyable. We've learned in recent months only that retaining possession does NOT equal entertainment. In fact, having the ball and doing nothing with it may be less entertaining than not having the ball but harassing the opposition without it.

3. If we get nothing else over the remaining eleven games, the minimum Roy's team will give us is commitment, honesty, effort, and a willingness to play for the shirt (simply because anyone who doesn't exhibit those values won't be selected.) That's not my idea of perfection but after the dross I've seen recently, it's enough to be going on with.

I actually think the marriage of a set of players not short on ability with an experienced, demanding manager may just be a recipe for turning things around. Time will tell, but in my view we were sinking without trace under PV and a so-called "easy run of games" wasn't going to change that. It wasn't the results that doomed Patrick so much as the manner they were arrived at. I feel considerably better about our chances now, with Roy in the dugout, than I did two weeks ago.

Should we plummet through that dreaded relegation trapdoor (God forbid), I suspect some managers currently in the lower divisions night come into consideration :

Mark Robins (Coventry) : Promotions from League Two and League One in trying circumstances due to the ground arrangements.

Ian Evatt (Bolton) : Promotion with Barrow out of the National League. Promotion with Bolton into League One with the club currently in the promotion places.

Michael Duff (Barnsley) : Promotion with Cheltenham out of League Two.This season, his first at Barnsley, he has led them to 4th place after they were relegated last season.

Steven Schumacher (Plymouth) : After taking over from Ryan Lowe last season, he led them to 7th in League One and they are currently top of the table.

Ryan Lowe (Preston) : Two League Two promotions with Bury and Plymouth.In his first season with Plymouth in League One they finished 18th but in his next season they were 6th when he departed.

A manager currently not employed but has a promotion to the PL on his CV is Dean Smith.

Edited by Willo (25 Mar 2023 1.22pm)

I had 'Championship' in mind when I listed the managers.
I doubt if the aforementioned managers would come into consideration should we remain in the PL.

Edited by Willo (25 Mar 2023 1.33pm)

Assuming that we retain our Premier League status I would guess that any prospective manager would insist on cast iron guarantees on transfer funds before even considering joining us