Fitzhugh Fella

After the misery of last season and with the morale of the fan base at rock bottom the last thing needed is a protracted month long recruitment of the new manager especially as he comes not exactly with the endorsement of the fans from his previous two clubs. I don’t know how much Sports Republic are in control of the situation but this period in the doldrums, while not critical, is just compounding the aura of malaise that has hung over St Mary’s for well over a year.

Surely you can keep the basic red and white stripes but come up with a new slant?

No originality. We’ve been there, done that it would have been nice to have come up with something new and different. Hardly inspirational. But having said that the kit is not as important as getting the right manager in.

Fabrizio Romano tweeted it and his credentials are right up there

Good point

Any inkling why he hasn’t been officially announced? The compensation reason is starting to feel like a red herring as those sort of stand offs don’t last that long. Perhaps he is on holiday? I remember Rupert Lowe appointing David Jones while the latter was on the beach somewhere. Either way it would be nice to get a few ducks in a row especially with a large playing turnover appearing likely.

I normally wouldn’t be too worried not having a manager in the weeks following the end of the season but I have so little faith in Sports Republic I am starting to twitch. And then having been told that their preferred choice (Pep’s nos 2) is joining Leicester my faith goes down one more notch. A lot of Championship teams are back in training next week so the days are running out. There is a lot of work to be done.

I know someone who has played with him and knows him well who reckons he would be a good buy for us. One of the best midfielders in the Championship and is more attacking than JWP. Also a top fella.

Maybe it’s the dross we’ve had to put up with over recent seasons? I must admit I have fallen out of love with the game somewhat. Not just Saints (that’s in the DNA), but football in general. The money men have corrupted it as a competitive sport. It’s happening in cricket too, not to mention golf. I let off a bit of steam and frustration on this forum. I apologise.

He’s neither educated or ITK

Disagree re Anka. He wrote quite a few unusual historical articles. Considering his term here coincided with a Covid I thought he did a good job. He went out of his way to embed with the fans too. Still each to his own.

No but you would think they would know what date he actually gets to put his feet under the desk. It’s not really important but it just shows how he is talking to lots of (anonymous) monkeys but not many organ grinders. The Athletic’s coverage was good under Carl Anka but since then it’s just the Echo on steroids.

For once I agree with you. The Athletic is hardly worth reading. They don’t even know when Wilcox is actually starting.

Wow. In some ways Selles was as dysfunctional as Jones. True he was far more media savvy but his tactics and selection policies were dreadful. Can’t believe you would keep him but I do understand where you are coming from re Martin.

No unfortunately. I could tell a few stories though

That would suggest Ankersen and Co actually know what they are doing so don't hold your breath.

Gordon Baker was the Secretary who was replaced by Keith Honey. the Chairman at the time was George Reader. You ve managed to mangle three into one 😀

3 were

Really? I think you need to reassess your stimulation levels. You seem overly desperate to be positive. Fair play. Please send me details of your medication.

My point is they would have been looking a lot longer than 3 days. But we all know the elephant in the room here. It’s that they’ve made the clanger of all clangers in appointing Jones and then another clanger in over promoting a coach with no managerial experience as his replacement. Confidence is low. Fans are restless about the next appointment and concerned they may get it wrong a third time. The close season is short for us as the Championship finished weeks ago and starts a week earlier than the PL does. So it’s hardly a crime that some fans display a little impatience on a forum especially when a well respected source - who is usually spot on - said an announcement would be made last week. Perhaps you should show a little patience towards those being impatient? 😀

Our season "ended" more than three days ago.

I think you find they are saying they “probably” got things wrong. 10 points from being safe and the word they use is probably

In hindsight I do think we would have been better off keeping Jones. If only he had kept his mouth shut I think eventually he would have got more out of the players than Selles, but his personality was so horrendously wrong I am still at a loss how SR couldn’t see it. This interview (the part that I’ve seen anyway) hasn’t particularly impressed me and the fact some of it is behind a paywall on a dire website is not really the best way to communicate with the fans. They’ve attempted to explain this car crash of a season with a lot of words but very little substance and the word “sorry” is nowhere to be seen. Ankersen in particular has some explaining to do. Why does he attend so few matches etc? We needed a hard hitting journalist (if there are any still around) to ask some probing direct questions instead we are offered a anodyne cosy chat at Staplewood that you have to pay two quid to read if you can fight your way through the pop up adverts. Poor show all around. This summer starting with the managerial appointment is massively important and I am not sure the three members of SR have the necessary football intelligence to oversee a serious stab at going back up a la Burnley. Anyone who can make a blunder as big as Jones has to be seriously flawed.

Thanks