Ex-Staff Gary Rowett

[Carpy]

1.Gary Rowett

Position: Head Coach

Nationality: England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Signed: 20th December 2024

Departed: 23rd December 2025 | Departed Posts: 1st Post

Previous Clubs: Birmingham City (Interim), Millwall, Stoke City, Derby County, Birmingham City, Burton Albion

Stats: TransferMarkt

Instagram: garyrowett1

 

[McXal]

Listened to it on my long run today. As others have said, he comes off as a nice guy, speaks fondly of the club generally, is CLEARLY walking on eggshells and trying not to be too ferocious in his criticism of the Indonesia tour…and I thought spoke intelligently and accurately about the state of our club, the season and the wider Championship landscape this season.

I’d have liked the 2nd Tier Podcast team to have probed him for a little more detail on the games leading up to his dismissal (ie some of his team selections, the fans turning on him and his wild post-match interview after Charlton) but can accept that may have been a little too granular and Oxford-focussed for a broader and more casual interview with him.

I left it remaining convinced he’d have kept us up if given the resources to do so. BUT what I would say is he dialled up the ‘haha, jolly good, little Oxford United’ rhetoric even more now he doesn’t work for us. Understandably so, but it was mildly annoying. I imagine as a player having that mentality as the prevailing culture of your set-up, training and day to day existence at a club it does have a very short shelf-life…

 

[unification]

As pragmatic and realistic out of the head coach seat as he is in it.

Whatever you think of him, he always speaks well about the game. I don’t by he’s a dinosaur at all either since he spoke that our tactics last season really came from the players rather than him.

I wouldn’t say there were any revelations in there and he was careful not to burn any bridges when he could have said more (certainly about pre-season). He’ll be fine getting a job elsewhere and - given proper backing - will continue to keep giving solid performances at whoever he manages.

It wasn’t to be this season and results were the main reason. With perhaps better management of the budget and a couple more players in over the summer, things could have been different.

 

[greatunclekip]

Yeh you're correct we should have got rid of Rowett in the summer for a manager more suited to the players we were going to bring in.

Or, and I know this is radical, we could have listened to him about the type of players he needed for his style of coaching that has worked consistently in this league, rather than the players who have us sitting 23rd.

 

[werthersoriginal]

Or, and I know this is radical, we could have listened to him about the type of players he needed for his style of coaching that has worked consistently in this league, rather than the players who have us sitting 23rd.

Ah I agree with you here. The idea of a recruitment team signing players without reference to what the manager wants seems a nonsense, if that’s what’s been happening. Though equally he could have tried the players, we’ve hardly seen most of the foreign ones apart from Brian.

 

[OX14]

Or, and I know this is radical, we could have listened to him about the type of players he needed for his style of coaching that has worked consistently in this league, rather than the players who have us sitting 23rd.

The club obviously didn't want to continue playing his style and also wanted to go back to bringing through youngsters. That's why they should of replaced him in the summer as his job was complete.

You only have to ask yourself why no other club has employed him since he left Millwall in 2023 . I know he helped Birmingham out for 8 games when Mowbray was diagnosed with cancer but they didn't even want to keep him for a challenge of promotion from league one.

He was backed massively by Stoke who had just been relegated into the championship and he failed miserably. He had some exciting players but set up to not lose rather than taking it to the opposition and that's what cost him his job.

Fans of Millwall said even though they finished top 10 in his successful spell the football was like watching paint dry.

 

[Steve Gilbert]

The club obviously didn't want to continue playing his style and also wanted to go back to bringing through youngsters. That's why they should of replaced him in the summer as his job was complete.

You only have to ask yourself why no other club has employed him since he left Millwall in 2023 . I know he helped Birmingham out for 8 games when Mowbray was diagnosed with cancer but they didn't even want to keep him for a challenge of promotion from league one.

He was backed massively by Stoke who had just been relegated into the championship and he failed miserably. He had some exciting players but set up to not lose rather than taking it to the opposition and that's what cost him his job.

Fans of Millwall said even though they finished top 10 in his successful spell the football was like watching paint dry.

With all due respect to Millwall fans, they don’t exactly play free flowing football these days either! In fact they have only scored 4 more goals than us this season and conceded 2 less.

 

[isibuko]

BUT what I would say is he dialled up the ‘haha, jolly good, little Oxford United’ rhetoric even more now he doesn’t work for us

Really don’t agree with this, I think he was respectful of the club and realistic about the challenges that we face in the Championship.

 

[Symp59]

Good manager the recruitment dept let him down ,if you made golf clubs for tiger Woods when he was winning everything and he wanted extra stiff flex in his irons you gave him ladies flexible shafts the outcome would not have been good ,the club maker would have been sacked ,and yet in this case the manager got the sack not the recruitment depth. But as they say we will never know

 

[McXal]

Really don’t agree with this, I think he was respectful of the club and realistic about the challenges that we face in the Championship.

That’s cool. Like I said, I liked the interview and felt that he came off completely respectably and spoke really well. I also stated I felt he’d have kept us up - and have pointed out in multiple other threads I didn’t want him sacked - so I certainly don’t have an anti-Rowett agenda. I just felt there were a few too many slightly jovial ‘well when you’re Oxford in the championship’ comments for my taste; and as we’ve all pointed out at various points this season - we aren’t winning enough games! At a certain point you need to be a bit more more bolshy about it and get past the ‘little Oxford’ moniker (in my opinion)

 

[holdsteady]

I doubt Brentford, Bournemouth, Brighton and Bromley (wanted to keep with the alliteration while also giving an over achieving club from outside the prem as an example) constantly refer to their smaller stature, especially the manager. It’s good to keep your feet on the ground but we also didn’t win a raffle to get and stay here, we earned the right.

Plus we are playing Stoke, Preston and Millwall not Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Juventus, we ever get in the champions league the manager can mention “plucky little Oxford” as much as Rowett did, not the second division that I grew up watching us in.

 

[Wallop]

With all due respect to Millwall fans, they don’t exactly play free flowing football these days either! In fact they have only scored 4 more goals than us this season and conceded 2 less.

Yet they have 43 points compared to our 22!

 

[Bicester Yellow]

Or, and I know this is radical, we could have listened to him about the type of players he needed for his style of coaching that has worked consistently in this league, rather than the players who have us sitting 23rd.

Well if he actually believed we were good enough for this level and transmitted that to the players and gave them tactical freedom maybe he might of picked up a few more points.

Always had the feeling he felt we didn’t deserve to be at this level.

 

[Bicester Yellow]

The club obviously didn't want to continue playing his style and also wanted to go back to bringing through youngsters. That's why they should of replaced him in the summer as his job was complete.

You only have to ask yourself why no other club has employed him since he left Millwall in 2023 . I know he helped Birmingham out for 8 games when Mowbray was diagnosed with cancer but they didn't even want to keep him for a challenge of promotion from league one.

He was backed massively by Stoke who had just been relegated into the championship and he failed miserably. He had some exciting players but set up to not lose rather than taking it to the opposition and that's what cost him his job.

Fans of Millwall said even though they finished top 10 in his successful spell the football was like watching paint dry.

Which says it all really.

He’s not a modern manager, a lot has been made of the recruitment but he stunted players with his negative tactics or didn’t play them at all in some cases so while we are no world beaters I think we are better than the points tally we’ve accumulated so far & he’s thrown away a fair few games by being massively negative against poor sides

 

[Steve Gilbert]

Yet they have 43 points compared to our 22!

Yes because they are better than we are at being clinical and closing games but my point was more the fact that their style of play isn’t that dissimilar to Rowett ball.

 

[carefreeoufc]

The good news about Bloomfield coming in and us signing two upgrades on our existing players is that we will be able to see whether Rowett was underperforming or not.

 

[billyturleyscurlywurly]

Listened to it on my long run today. As others have said, he comes off as a nice guy, speaks fondly of the club generally, is CLEARLY walking on eggshells and trying not to be too ferocious in his criticism of the Indonesia tour…and I thought spoke intelligently and accurately about the state of our club, the season and the wider Championship landscape this season.

I’d have liked the 2nd Tier Podcast team to have probed him for a little more detail on the games leading up to his dismissal (ie some of his team selections, the fans turning on him and his wild post-match interview after Charlton) but can accept that may have been a little too granular and Oxford-focussed for a broader and more casual interview with him.

I left it remaining convinced he’d have kept us up if given the resources to do so. BUT what I would say is he dialled up the ‘haha, jolly good, little Oxford United’ rhetoric even more now he doesn’t work for us. Understandably so, but it was mildly annoying. I imagine as a player having that mentality as the prevailing culture of your set-up, training and day to day existence at a club it does have a very short shelf-life…

I’d say he’s got even more reasons to call us little old Oxford now after the working conditions he received as a head coach of a Championship club..

 

[dickwalton1964]

We are a small club in Championship terms. What’s wrong with people moaning about us being referred to as ‘little Oxford’ or ‘smallest club in Championship’ ? Who really cares, it doesn’t bother me in the slightest, especially as it’s accurate ! Gates suggest we are the smallest, budget would suggest we are smallest, Championship history would suggest we are the smallest and current league position lends credence to that view too ! Move on, it really is no big deal.

 

[jaybeachjump]

Or, and I know this is radical, we could have listened to him about the type of players he needed for his style of coaching that has worked consistently in this league, rather than the players who have us sitting 23rd.

You're both right. Divisions in hiring policy would have been clear in the summer. They should have sacked him then, or agreed to back him for a full season.To go into a new season fundamentally misaligned was an error of leadership. They left the problem to fester, and we have been punished.

 

[OtteryYellow]

I’d say he’s got even more reasons to call us little old Oxford now after the working conditions he received as a head coach of a Championship club..

Why do you say that?

In the interview he is very complimentary about the other staff and he says that the level of transfers were roughly what he expected.

I'm genuinely confused, are you saying he is lying or deliberately not mentioning something?

 

[billyturleyscurlywurly]

Why do you say that?

In the interview he is very complimentary about the other staff and he says that the level of transfers were roughly what he expected.

I'm genuinely confused, are you saying he is lying or deliberately not mentioning something?

I’d say he was very careful with his wording considering the pre season plans & recruitment plans he wanted compared to what we had/were given

 

[DenbighYellow]

We are a small club in Championship terms. What’s wrong with people moaning about us being referred to as ‘little Oxford’ or ‘smallest club in Championship’ ? Who really cares, it doesn’t bother me in the slightest, especially as it’s accurate ! Gates suggest we are the smallest, budget would suggest we are smallest, Championship history would suggest we are the smallest and current league position lends credence to that view too ! Move on, it really is no big deal.

It bothered me about Rowett throughout his tenure tbh. We all know where we sit in the pecking order, however I'm not sure constantly reminding us of it in interviews was overly helpful. I thin it can set a dangerous culture within the dressing room and almost becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.

I think Rowett on the whole did a good job whilst he was here and I actually believe he may have just kept us up by the skin of our teeth, however I always got the impression that he saw us as a stopgap and he almost saw the job as beneath him. Will be interesting to see where he ends up at next.

 

[Swaby39]

It bothered me about Rowett throughout his tenure tbh. We all know where we sit in the pecking order, however I'm not sure constantly reminding us of it in interviews was overly helpful. I thin it can set a dangerous culture within the dressing room and almost becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.

I think Rowett on the whole did a good job whilst he was here and I actually believe he may have just kept us up by the skin of our teeth, however I always got the impression that he saw us as a stopgap and he almost saw the job as beneath him. Will be interesting to see where he ends up at next.

Agree with everything other than him keeping us up. I don’t see any evidence to support it.

We had to go Rowett’s way in the summer to get the best of him. We didn’t on any front and it became more obvious with every passing game that he wasn’t invested anymore. His selections and substitutions just screamed “f*ck it, try that”.

The rest of what you say is spot on. His attitude/choice of words when talking about us was effectively kicking us further down in to a corner. We now need hauling out of that and Bloomfield (albeit on first impressions) seems a good character to bring the temperature down and having spent 20 proud years at a smaller club, I expect him to have some genuine pride in being here.

 

[unification]

Funny how people see things differently.

I didn’t think anything he said about us was patronising and ‘little old Oxford’. If anything, it was showing how well we’re punching above our weight. I saw it as ‘This side, out of the second tier for quarter of a century and without owning its own ground, can have the ability to scrap and bloody the nose of a few sides who see them as something to take three points from’.

We have the second smallest stadium in the division, yet we fill it every week. In turn, we were 12th last season for average number of away fans travelling to games ahead of Norwich, Watford, QPR and other clubs established at this level. We aren’t the biggest and won’t ever be, but we can sure as hell be competitive.

Plus, don’t we do the very same knowing acknowledgement of the established pecking order ourselves? Finding and tagging the bemoaning posts under the #teamslikeOxford thing is buying into the same measure by taking the big boys down a peg. Yes, Ipswich and Southampton, you have been done by Oxford in recent weeks. Get used to us being around.

We can be tough without having to measure ourselves - stadium size, budget, time spent in the PL and any other measure of 'big'-ness in football - against those in the top and pretend we are 'bigger' than we are. We’re in the same league on merit and GR sure as hell made sure of that last season.

 

[90syeIlow]

We are a small club in Championship terms. What’s wrong with people moaning about us being referred to as ‘little Oxford’ or ‘smallest club in Championship’ ? Who really cares, it doesn’t bother me in the slightest, especially as it’s accurate ! Gates suggest we are the smallest, budget would suggest we are smallest, Championship history would suggest we are the smallest and current league position lends credence to that view too ! Move on, it really is no big deal.

It’s pretty much common sense and yes it is a big deal when your (ex) head coach does it.

You don’t belittle the club and your players while you’re managing them, since it’s your job to get them playing their best and winning points, rather than feeling sorry for themselves.

 

[Bicester Yellow]

I’d say he’s got even more reasons to call us little old Oxford now after the working conditions he received as a head coach of a Championship club..

Well no wonder we’ve had players afraid to attack over the half way line with some of his comments on that podcast with regards to him not feeling confident in beating sides, that will only transmit to the players and that’s exactly how he set up us towards the end to the point we barely attacked

 

[DenbighYellow]

I’d say he’s got even more reasons to call us little old Oxford now after the working conditions he received as a head coach of a Championship club..

Do you care to expand? If you're referring to facilities, having been to most of the training grounds in the Championship, I would say our facilities are better than at least 5 or 6

 

[Yemi-God]

After listening back to the Gary Rowett interview, it really felt like he viewed us as little old Oxford. If that’s how it came across publicly, it does make you wonder what message was being passed on to the players behind closed doors - and whether that might have knocked confidence a bit.


Hopefully, a change of manager and some fresh ideas can give the players a lift and remind them they’re better than what we’ve been seeing. A reset could be exactly what’s needed right now.

 

[Slade Yellow]

After listening back to the Gary Rowett interview, it really felt like he viewed us as little old Oxford. If that’s how it came across publicly, it does make you wonder what message was being passed on to the players behind closed doors - and whether that might have knocked confidence a bit.


Hopefully, a change of manager and some fresh ideas can give the players a lift and remind them they’re better than what we’ve been seeing. A reset could be exactly what’s needed right now.

With new first team coaches!

 

[Basham Wonderland]

We're better off without him and vice versa.

To be fair to him, we are little old Oxford at the moment. Three sides, s**t football and crowds of 11k. No neutral football fan would see us as anything more than just "this year's Wycombe".

We've got potential to be more of course - but if we're being dodgy with managers and going back on our word re budgets and recruitment, then we deserve to be considered a provincial backwater club.

Wish Gary all the best, we should have treated him better.

 

[SirAndyOfCrosby]

No neutral football fan would see us as anything more than just "this year's Wycombe".

The same Wycombe that had never before played at this level? Never won anything? Never spent time in the top flight? Have barely half our support? And accumulated just 43 points in their one season here?

You'd have to be an incredibly f*cking ignorant 'football fan'.