Charlie Wayman

It's not difficult to understand SR's dilemma and the hesitancy over their next managerial appointment having ballsed it up five times in a row and with vultures (fans) squawking overhead in anticipation of another discarded carcass. They must feel sometimes that they just cannot win. Doing nothing seems to be their best option at the moment - i.e., promoting from within - and the least risky to their reputation and bank balance. They may have taken the view that Eckert may not succeed but nor would there be any guarantee that a new outside appointee would fare any better in which case they might as well stick with Eckert and hope their luck turns. A win on Saturday and my bet is he's got the job for the rest of the season.

Storm in a teacup, click bait for The Guardian. You clicked, I didn't.

You can fool most of the people some of the time etc………………...

Can't agree with your on Still. He was an atrocious communicator, his pc's were appallingly inept and it amazes me that he cobbled together enough articulation to impress anybody other than the tea lady - no disrespect intended. "Russ" of course was a world class bullshystter

There was one in Salisbury exactly like that as well a few years ago.

He was removed because he was pathetic, poor at communications, poor at coaching and a poor tactician.

SR have had to pay off five managers since Ralph left so from a purely financial perspective it is not difficult to see why they turned to Eckert and hope he comes good. He's already on the payroll and if it doesn't work out he simply returns to his old job. No pay off, no losses whereas there is absolutely no guarantee that a Name manager brought in at great expense would succeed any more than his predecessors. SR don't have an unlimited amount of dole money to keep handing out.

This season is written off anyway so why not give him a go?

You answered your own question

Where's Turkish when we need him?

We could try poaching good ones from other clubs, why not? Die by the sword, live by the sword.

While admiring your optimism, it isn't quite as simple as 93 points to play for and how we perform from now on. It's less about how many points we gain and more about how many points the front runners are likely to throw away. There is already a huge points gap to the top two with no sign of them faltering. Other strong clubs like Ipswich are beginning to close in so I'd say it's nigh on impossible for Saints to recover enough to be in the hunt for the autos this season.

Error fixed for free

A win rate of 100% is not to be sneezed at. Unless its Guardiola some people on here will never be satisfied

These arrangements take time, rushing things through is never a good option. After years of failure and poor coaching the last thing we need is another boy wonder manager who is out of his depth. We need the right person, at the right price and given a clear set of objectives. Deadlines are artificial and unhelpful. It's too late now anyway to expect a promotion challenge this season. As long as the new person wins more matches than he loses and is able to instil a sytem and style of play that pleases fans and commentators and is progressive then he will be given time to build a strong side able to challenge for auromatic promotion next season.