InvictaSaint

His choice of emoji might suggest he knows something….

And yet, while there are positives in this article from The Athletic, if we had seen these things said of Maresca had he been appointed at Saints, I think I know how people would have reacted….

Looks like SRL might have been spending too much time with MLT….😳🤦‍♂️😳 https://twitter.com/RealTomNumbers/status/1668049674522042371?s=20

At least they stayed up….🤣

With Saints over the last 3 years, more like OFI Saturday again….

Precisely why the bit where Nixon states “he wants a crack at Europe while at the top of his game” made me chuckle….

No need to apologise FF! That’s what the forum’s for - letting off steam! I think we’ve all been jaded by recent seasons and I agree about football in general; watching City lift the CL trophy yesterday you can’t help but think of the tarnished state funding that has got them to this place. But let’s be positive and look forward to a rejuvenated Saints giving us - finally! - something to cheer next season. Keep the faith.

Would agree Badger - though he does say on a number of occasions that he thinks RM will be a good appointment. He also makes the very salient point that there is not a lot of top, top quality out there who's prepared to come into the Championship. The issue of re-establishing identity also high on the list. As you say, an intelligent person who comes across very well. I feel comforted by players - particularly ex-Saints who still have a lot of time for the club - who have played with and been managed by the man we are considering appointing. No guarantees of course - there never are! - but this feels like it could have the makings of a re-establishing of Saints as a team and as a club. Something else to highlight in Drew's comments - he referenced that RM has evolved year-on-year since he first knew him at Norwich. I think this is important. For those of us worried about the 'possession for possession's sake' issue - though I think that is somewhat lazy thinking - this clearly explains the latter stages of last season where Swansea went to a back four and won 8 of their last 9 or something along those lines. RM clearly adapts and evolves and Drew has noticed this.

Decent reworking of the Betis photo shoot….

Would explain why his is the only shirt in the current Saints Foundation auction that isn’t signed….

Transfermarkt (decent source) lists contract end dates (if perm and not a loan) as June 30th of any given year. For loans it appears to be 31st May. So Tella and Smallbone’s loans have already ended and they are officially back with us. No idea whether same applies to managers though…

This para from Martin’s Coach’s Voice article is particularly interesting. He’s generally been given time but he’s never been given money. Now he will have the money. However, he also knows - presumably - that SR will want - at worst - a two-season max stint in the Championship. So time is far less of a given. How he manages those competing demands will be very interesting.

Spot on.

That was an absolute cracker - Friday night just before Xmas. Jo Tessem scored in a 1-1 draw. I pulled my back in a service station toilet on the way up (not what you’re thinking you smutty lot - I lent awkwardly over a sink!) so was in agony most of the game. The music really cheered me up!

This would indicate you’re right….(from the outgoing director of marketing)

Just as a counterpoint, here are some alternative Swansea fans’ views I have found over the last couple of days. But I imagine it will be like every other manager - some will like him, some will be indifferent and others will hate him, for whatever reason. Take David Moyes - got West Ham to a European final, but only just survived in the PL. Some Hammers like him, some don’t. It will be the same with RM. We just have to hope that with better resources, a long pre-season (such as he didn’t have when he joined Swansea with a week to go before the season kicked off) and our support, he makes a good fist of it. As supporters what else can we do?!

But again you’re being selective. Wyn mentions a number of positives within his post. I certainly wouldn’t say there’s ‘nothing to allay our fears’ - quite the opposite. But if you go looking for misery, you’ll almost certainly find it…. A more balanced view would be that Wyn highlights some concerns over a potentially fixed mindset related to possession, resulting in less attractive and less effective football, but counters that with an indication the winning run at the back end of the season showed Martin being more adaptable and flexible. If you then take the context of Littledavewatson’s very reasoned and reasonable post you get a sense of what Martin was up against in January and how that affected things. With better players he might not suffer those issues. Nothing is guaranteed and Martin may fail or may succeed. But taking a balanced view is key.

Very selective. Does this not count then?

I think we all know the answer to that one….

From a Dons supporter:

Worth a listen:

From somebody who knows him and has got his coaching badges with him…

The comments I posted above might suggest otherwise….

Two Swansea fans’ views. Somewhat more positive. “Southampton gave a great manager and fantastic person, but a long contract with assurances is needed to succeed.”

Spot on - this is the absolute nub of it. Even with Romeu - who was definitely adding protection and broke up play before it got to the edge of our 18 yard box or out wide, which we have badly lacked since his departutre - with JWP in the middle we didn't /don't have pace to break through the lines. Hence the endless recycling of possession which does nothing for us. This has to be an area where we look to invest and improve, particularly if (as has been mooted) we go down the heavy possession-based football route.