Nathan Jones

[Fan The Flames]

18 minutes ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

No chance. Wouldn’t make a blind bit of difference. People would be saying “what sort of manager admits he’s a Wally?”. 

Totally disagree, it's what a lot of corporate organisations would do. 

In these situations I always ask myself 'what would Max Clifford do'.

[Mr X]

6 minutes ago, trousers said:

We're in 15th place in the 2023 form table. Maybe I've misjudged this Jones fella after all...

 

Is this just the away games or home? As we've played more than 4 games? 😂

[Golac's Cunning Stunts]

 

Amended the lyrics to the Nathan Jones pop song-

Oh winter's passed, spring and fall
You never win, you never draw
Nathan Jones you've been here too long
Here too long

[Weston Super Saint]

7 minutes ago, Mr X said:

Is this just the away games or home? As we've played more than 4 games? 😂

Forest, Everton, villa, Brentford.

 

[Warriorsaint]

6 hours ago, hypochondriac said:

Welsh? 

That u Duckwomble? 😂 

[Whitey Grandad]

1 hour ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

No chance. Wouldn’t make a blind bit of difference. People would be saying “what sort of manager admits he’s a Wally?”. 

One who’s a Wally?

[Golac's Cunning Stunts]

8 minutes ago, Whitey Grandad said:

One who’s a Wally?

wallies wouldn't admit they are a wally.

Nathan is the sort of guy who says he has only ever been wrong once, and that was when he thought he was wrong about something

[OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint]

Last time we were relegated, there were lots of fans saying we're sleepwalking in to relegation. We were. We did. This time it's different. The management has spent a comparative fortune on getting in new players; I'm certain the powers that be know we're in danger of going down and are actively doing their best to halt our decline....but what I really don't understand is why they can't see NJ is the problem. Let's see Saturday. A must win game and this muppet could be starting with 5 at the back and all eyes on pumping the ball to Tall Paul. I do hope I'm wrong...

[StrangelyBrown]

Did he really say he was the "fittest human being in history"??? If so that is some claim....

[saintant]

3 minutes ago, StrangelyBrown said:

Did he really say he was the "fittest human being in history"??? If so that is some claim....

Well he has to be best at something - clearly he was a shit footballer.

[Dusic]

Just watched this and controversially I do think he has something that I can see why he has been successful at time - probably the intensity but also he does come across as quite authentically himself, the good and the bad, which in some ways is refreshing compared to some managers who are absolute dullards.

I'm not saying that he is doing a good job, or that I would be unhappy if he was fired as he quite possibly should have been but have a nagging feeling that he did come into a club which was 90th/92 over the prior 12 months and thats hard to turn around.

I hope the fans do support the team at the Wolves game and at least give him/them a chance to show something. I think its obvious he cares, and also that he has (rightly) been absolute hammered with criticism and on a human level it would be great to see something positive for him after that.

I'm very dubious about him, but don't hate him in the way many do.

***As a side note, when you read some of the quotes from him it often doesn't give the right context to the manner in which he delivers them. Much better to watch it and then judge***

 

 

[Rivers]

8 hours ago, FarehamSaintJames said:

Is he deluded?

 

You really have to ask?

 

8 hours ago, The Kraken said:

I’ve been trying to watch this press conference on the OS but I only get blue spinning wheel of death on my laptop and iPad.

Be thankful for small mercies.

 

5 hours ago, Crab Lungs said:

there is a worrying lack of specifics which is what concerns me. Maybe he’s just not that type of guy.

Competent?

 

5 hours ago, Atlanta Saint said:

I'm forever saying Jesus Christ and Oh My God when something goes tits up while at work

It's not their fault.Take responsibilty FFS!

 

4 hours ago, saintant said:

But all we keep hearing from both Jones and Ankersen is how well things are going on the training ground -

It's true! Our agression stats are through the roof, and we've already beaten last week's tally for training ground punch ups twice over.

 

Edited 9 February, 2023 by Rivers
Amended

[hypochondriac]

30 minutes ago, Dusic said:

Just watched this and controversially I do think he has something that I can see why he has been successful at time - probably the intensity but also he does come across as quite authentically himself, the good and the bad, which in some ways is refreshing compared to some managers who are absolute dullards.

I'm not saying that he is doing a good job, or that I would be unhappy if he was fired as he quite possibly should have been but have a nagging feeling that he did come into a club which was 90th/92 over the prior 12 months and thats hard to turn around.

I hope the fans do support the team at the Wolves game and at least give him/them a chance to show something. I think its obvious he cares, and also that he has (rightly) been absolute hammered with criticism and on a human level it would be great to see something positive for him after that.

I'm very dubious about him, but don't hate him in the way many do.

***As a side note, when you read some of the quotes from him it often doesn't give the right context to the manner in which he delivers them. Much better to watch it and then judge***

 

 

Hmm. I've now watched the whole press conference and some of his mannerisms and way he answers questions towards the end really reminds me of David Brent. 

[Golac's Cunning Stunts]

The questions asked at the presser were good. He is either not very good at articulating particulars about his strategy and thoughts, or he doesn't know what he is doing 🙂

On another note, 95% of it was about him, not the team, which is very sad.

[austsaint]

11 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Hmm. I've now watched the whole press conference and some of his mannerisms and way he answers questions towards the end really reminds me of David Brent. 

He's got a lot of Brent in his make-up.  With a bit of Gareth thrown in for good measure.

[hypochondriac]

3 minutes ago, Golac's Cunning Stunts said:

The questions asked at the presser were good. He is either not very good at articulating particulars about his strategy and thoughts, or he doesn't know what he is doing 🙂

On another note, 95% of it was about him, not the team, which is very sad.

It's hardly surprising given the events of the past week. Questions will be back on the team once he's been sacked which will be soon god willing. 

[hypochondriac]

3 minutes ago, austsaint said:

He's got a lot of Brent in his make-up.  With a bit of Gareth thrown in for good measure.

The bit from 21 minutes is pure Brent. 

[Golac's Cunning Stunts]

He says we are good tactically and we just need to score more goals than opposition

[hypochondriac]

4 minutes ago, Golac's Cunning Stunts said:

He says we are good tactically and we just need to score more goals than opposition

I heard that. We categorically are not OK tactically. If he believes that then why was he talking about things needing to change after Saturday? 

[HKsaint]

I just gave up after hearing twice something like “we just didn’t get the result”.  He has no clue and he just wants to try his luck to get some results! 

Edited 10 February, 2023 by HKsaint

[Golac's Cunning Stunts]

8 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

I heard that. We categorically are not OK tactically. If he believes that then why was he talking about things needing to change after Saturday? 

I know.

 

From about min 29 it is a mini life story, let's talk about me. Like an old grandad you don't want to go near when you were a kid because you know he is going to tell you all his old war stories for the next 30 minutes. Narcissistic - he is very much at the centre of his universe - everything is filtered through that lens

Edited 10 February, 2023 by Golac's Cunning Stunts

[Holmes_and_Watson]

It would be mean to ask him if he really was the fittest man in history. I'll put that with statistically the best in Europe as a Nathanism.

I did look up sharply when he said he'd be dead soon. Things aren't that bad! Just a slip of the tongue.

He'd clearly had a nice chat with his handler/ press officer. And the pre match, doesn't have the emotion of the post match. So, always emphasised that he had never, ever blamed anyone other than himself. Despite interviews across 3 clubs, where that is how it comes across. If, in his mind, he genuinely isn't doing that, he needs to stop those answers early. Which he did here, shutting down his answers and being more tactful and thoughtful.

The big fringe benefit if we win is that he'll be able to stop bringing up his past record to justify his appointment.

While he smugly explained that there's a masterplan behind players being in the B team, I hope there's a bit more depth behind the team being front footed and aggressive (which now has it's own stats apparently xGrrrrr).

 

[Whitey Grandad]

1 hour ago, StrangelyBrown said:

Did he really say he was the "fittest human being in history"??? If so that is some claim....

Fit only for the bin.

[Whitey Grandad]

46 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Hmm. I've now watched the whole press conference and some of his mannerisms and way he answers questions towards the end really reminds me of David Brent. 

But without the charisma.

[Miltonaggro]

7 minutes ago, Whitey Grandad said:

But without the charisma.

Or managerial skills. 

[austsaint]

40 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

The bit from 21 minutes is pure Brent. 

I only got 10 minutes in with the presser; I'll fast forward to 21 minutes.   Just reading Dusic's post about (his) being able to see how Jones has been successful at times.    Has he really been that successful?    Two Clubs as Manager in his own right....the Stoke tenure needs no elaboration; then there's Luton.  Most of his success took place at L2 and L1 level - then taking them to the play offs in the Championship - there must be many Managers who have done something similar - most have either never made it to Prem level or only had a brief look at it.  That's why many doubted the appointment in the first place - lack of pedigree or prior demonstrated abilities to succeed in such a tough league.

[Trader]

Weirdly, if we win against Wolves I think the club should sack him because that 3 points would give someone else a fighting chance of keeping us up.

Lose, and we're as good as down anyway so it doesn't really matter if he stays or goes.

[CamberwellSaint]

Just listened to the presser.

Not the train-wreck of post-Brentford, but still wince-inducing, counter-productive, uninspiring and contradictory.

The levels of delusion are almost Trump-esque: "I've got no bridges to build", "fittest human in history", "everything positive".

Meaningless cliches continually: "positive, potent, front footed, aggressive". If this is how he talks to the team [and it is how he talks to the team] they must be completely sick of him.

When challenged about the fights in training: "That's a non-identity" [?!]. There was a fight- he simply can't comprehend why it happened and hence garbles the language like this.

He flatly denied saying 'there are some in the village'- he was recorded saying it. Another schoolboy moment of getting backed into a corner and having to lie again to try to move on.

Telling the media that you don't like the way your comments were reported is like telling teacher you didn't like the way they marked your homework: petulant and tone-deaf.

Every time he says 'in terms of stuff' and 'in terms of certain things' he sounds like he wants to know about running an elite football team, but doesn't. 

He's thrown DC-C under the bus [again!] "Suspension meant he was de-conditioned" [?!] Implies that DCC doesn't train well enough to keep himself match fit. Will everyone who's had a suspension have to play with the kids for a week?

The way the club cut the film abruptly after "Which stats?"/"Everything positive", suggests things broke down at that point. The idiotic "running stats, aggression stats" comments will have been interrogated and Jones won't have been able to cope.

The press gave him every chance to not talk about Luton, and what did he start talking about again under no pressure whatsoever? 

There's a Alastair Campbell quote about politicians whose scandal stays on the front page for 7 days are doomed. Jones has been talking about himself, not his players for a lot longer than that.

The press might be wankers, but they can smell a bull-shitter who's out of his depth, and they will keep going after him.

 

[InvictaSaint]

Interesting analysis from Sky. Statistically not quite as incredible as he thinks he is…..

The clock looks to be ticking on Nathan Jones' time at Southampton after only managing one PL win from seven; Saints have kept one clean sheet in their last 27 league matches, conceding in each of their last 12 at St Mary's; they are five points adrift of safety with 17 games to go

 

The chants have grown increasingly more condemnatory. They have graduated from prolonged choruses of boos, to "you don't know what you're doing", to "get out of our club." A decree issued directly at manager Nathan Jones.

Fans have made their concerns known as unease and impatience amplifies with every defeat. The cloud over St Mary's is growing ever darker - and appears close to bursting point.

Southampton have lost six of their last seven Premier League games, keeping one clean sheet in their last 27 - albeit not all of the matches in that dismal run overseen by Jones.

The outlook on the south coast is, nonetheless, gloomy. 15 points from 21 played - an average of 0.7 per game. Supporters' ire is not likely to thaw any time soon, with many already turning their back on a manager who has only been in the role two-and-a-half miserable months.

Part of the issue, from a fan perspective, is broken promises. Jones has backed himself into a corner. He came in wanting to address defensive stability - with specific focus on clean sheets and eradicating mistakes from set-pieces. Neither have materialised.

Jones has managed 12 games in all competitions since his appointment - Saints have conceded from five set-pieces (four corners and one free-kick) during that time. In fact most metrics, from which Jones was initially identified and measured by at former club Luton, are not transpiring in Hampshire.

When compared with Ralph Hasenhuttl's first 15 games of this season, for example, Saints have regressed in almost all categories. They score less, concede more and offer up more of the ball to their opponents - particularly at home, where they have won fewer points than any other side in England's top four divisions.

 
In reality, it means the football is as uninspiring as the results. Jones, untried at untested at top-flight level before now, was an unpopular appointment back in November - deemed to be far less 'fashionable' than Aston Villa's recruitment of Unai Emery or Julen Lopetegui at Wolves. But early misgivings have agitated and alienated the fanbase even further.

Tactical tinkering, including ever-changing shapes, formations, styles and personnel has compounded the problem. Across the season, 55 changes have been made to Southampton's starting XI - only Chelsea and Liverpool rank higher. Saints have also used a total of 31 different players - only Chelsea have fielded more (32).

Premier League — Bottom half

Pos.        P    Pts    Form
11    Aston Villa    21    28    
LWDWWL
12    Crystal Palace    21    24    
WLLDDL
13    Nottm Forest    21    24    
LDWWDW
14    Leicester    21    21    
LLLLDW
15    Wolves    21    20    
WLDWLW
16    Leeds    21    19    
DDLDLD
17    West Ham    21    19    
LLDLWD
18    Everton    21    18    
LDLLLW
19    Bournemouth    21    17    
LLLLDL
20    Southampton    21    15    
LLLWLL
Jones, to his credit, has remained defiant and bullish throughout. He believes he is the man for the job and can turn the tide on the south coast - but surely only three points against Wolves on Saturday can hand the under-fire boss a life raft. We are in win or walk territory.

What began as the optimistic dawning of a new era under new owners (Sport Republic) willing to invest in rebuilding the playing squad (spending a further £56m in the January window), has quickly turned into a rescue mission with very few contingencies. It's no surprise disgruntled fans are voicing contempt - question is, is anyone listening?

Jones: I was among best in Europe at Luton... But I've compromised
Jones denies shifting blame for Saints form | 'I've gone back to basics'
Blame game exposes frailties

Along with chaotic performances and underwhelming results, another reason for Southampton supporters' unhappiness with Jones lies in various bizarre public pronouncements.

Since his appointment, Jones has been quick to point to personal successes at Luton, speaking highly of his own credentials while detaching himself somewhat from Southampton's downfall - instead highlighting perceived errors made by previous regimes.

His post-match address after last weekend's Brentford defeat was case in point. "I've been very successful playing a fluent style", he said, adding: "statistically, there weren't many better than me around Europe".

Nathan Jones says he took full responsibility for Southampton's poor form, adding he 'pandered' to some things around the club, after the loss at Brentford
Jones described his players as "that team" in west London, and pointed out "the same things have been happening for a year - they've been losing games in the Premier League".

The finger of blame was indeed pointed at numerous culprits, which appeared to absolve himself of responsibility - although the 49-year-old has since backtracked, claiming the comments were intended as a full admission of responsibility and he "lives and dies by his own decisions".

Still, the emotional rant did very little to win sympathisers among the fanbase, while also raising alarm bells amid Southampton's new-look hierarchy - who have since gone on record to publicly back their first managerial appointment since taking over at St Mary's 12 months ago.

Jones said he has made "compromises" because of "personnel", "the way that people want to play" and "fans". 

Southampton's defeat at Brentford was their sixth in seven league games under Nathan Jones
Criticising so many key factions of the club is risky, with reports emerging this week Jones' bosses were suitably unimpressed by the knee-jerk reaction. By contrast, captain James Ward-Prowse apologised to travelling fans for another abject display.

Unsurprisingly, supporters took exception to Jones' comments. Speaking to Sky Sports News ahead of Tuesday's fans' forum, one supporter described the atmosphere as "toxic", while another said: "within weeks, 100 per cent of the fanbase turned against him [Jones]."

"It's the Premier League that matters to Saints fans and a lot of them are not convinced at all by Nathan Jones. Plenty want him gone," Sky Sports News reporter Jeremy Langdon summarised earlier this week.

Nathan Jones was asked to leave by his own fans during Southampton's loss at Brentford
Rasmus Ankersen, CEO of the club's owners Sport Republic, has given public backing to Jones at a Q&A event with fans. He said: "It's no secret that if you keep losing games you cannot do that forever, at some point you hit the point where it's enough.

"I appreciate you're looking at it from the outside and have certain reference points and we are on the inside we have a lot more reference points. We see what goes on every day, we see the quality of the work carried out, relationship with the players.

"As long as we think the work being carried out by Nathan and team and players at the training ground every day is high quality then we have something to believe in that this is going to get better and we can turn it around."

Jones adamant playing style has been 'compromised' - but what is it?

Jones was head-hunted by Ankersen largely because of the laudable work he undertook at Luton, which perhaps explains why he was so keen to emphasise his time at Kenilworth Road after Saints' recent Brentford thumping.

After that game, Jones bemoaned his inability to replicate the style of football that proved successful for him at Luton, saying of Southampton: "I look at that team and I don't see myself," adding: "I've compromised."

So, let's compare.

During his two full seasons in charge - 2020/21 and 2021/22 - Jones' Luton were hardly prolific, ranking 20th for goals scored, but they were good at getting the ball forward quickly, coming in seventh for long passes attempted and ninth for completed crosses, while only five sides completed fewer passes.

The Hatters were also strong from attacking set-pieces, placing eighth for assists from such situations.

Since he took charge, Jones' Southampton produce similar statistics, ranking 16th for goals scored, second for long passes attempted, sixth for crosses completed and fourth for assists from set-pieces - with only three sides completing fewer passes.

Southampton have lost eight of their last nine PL games - the exception being a 2-1 win at Everton
However, there are a number of areas where Jones has failed to implement his so-called playing principles - and they go some way to explaining Saints' downward trend.

Jones' Luton were a skilled pressing side, rated in the top three in the Championship across the past two completed seasons for possessions won in the attacking third, while they ranked 14th for goals conceded.

Southampton's pressing is nowhere near as coherent or effective - they are in the bottom half among top-flight sides for attacking-third possession wins - and are joint bottom for goals conceded. They have also conceded a league-high 13 goals from crosses.

What's more, only 38 per cent of the long passes Southampton have attempted actually reached their intended target.

In short, Luton under Jones got the ball forward quickly and accurately, pressed high and defended solidly. They did not need to score hatfuls of goals because they were breached far less frequently. Southampton are simply failing to match up.

The Jones playbook, which relies on being defensively sound and robust, is undone every time Saints concede first - across 21 league games, they have only scored the first goal four times, and none of those have occurred during games managed by the Welshman.

Bold claims distort truth

Nathan Jones said he had 'compromised on principles' at Southampton, and claims Luton were one of the best-coached teams in Europe under his management
One of the most eye-catching claims Jones made following the damaging defeat at Brentford was "there weren't many better than me around Europe in terms of aggression, clean sheets, defending the box, balls in the box, xG [expected goals]" during his second spell at Luton.

Jones added his side "were pound-for-pound the best because we were spending next to nothing and producing so much".

Putting Jones' words under the microscope, it's clear Luton did keep an impressive number of clean sheets, recording a shutout in 37.5 per cent of their matches - but such impressive numbers do not correspond at the top end of the pitch.

Across the Championship between 2020-21 and 2021-22 - Jones’ two full seasons in charge after returning to the club - they ranked fourth for clean sheets. Fair enough.

Luton also ranked fairly high for passes into the box under Jones, recording 30.47 per game.

For context in European circles, behind Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Liverpool, Monaco yielded the highest number (33.01), while the lowest was fellow Ligue 1 side Lorient (21.34).

Jones’ claim about Luton’s xG is where the real downfall lies. The Hatters’ figure of 1.26 per game ranks averagely among European sides - mid-table, if you will. It's certainly way behind leaders Bayern, who top the charts with 2.45.

Jones' claims were exaggerative, but do, however, carry some weight considering relative budgets.

Nathan Jones says he 'lives and dies by his decisions' following recent criticism about his management of Southampton
According to Transfermarkt, the largest fee Luton spent on a player during Jones’ second spell was £1.8m (Carlton Morris), while they signed seven players for free.

During that time - with one of the lowest budgets in the second tier - Jones took Luton to successive top-half finishes - including a play-off semi-final.

But now the arena has changed. Jones has stepped up from the middleweight to heavyweight division and the pressure is showing. Cracks have appeared.

When asked if he thinks he can keep Southampton in the Premier League during his pre-Wolves press conference he replied: "I genuinely think I can."

The 'how' remains to be seen.

 

Edited 10 February, 2023 by InvictaSaint

[Fan The Flames]

The above article outlines Jones's football style when it is working and successful and it doesn't sound great. This is why many didn't want him at the beginning.

[Francis1947]

2 hours ago, CamberwellSaint said:

Just listened to the presser.

Not the train-wreck of post-Brentford, but still wince-inducing, counter-productive, uninspiring and contradictory.

The levels of delusion are almost Trump-esque: "I've got no bridges to build", "fittest human in history", "everything positive".

Meaningless cliches continually: "positive, potent, front footed, aggressive". If this is how he talks to the team [and it is how he talks to the team] they must be completely sick of him.

When challenged about the fights in training: "That's a non-identity" [?!]. There was a fight- he simply can't comprehend why it happened and hence garbles the language like this.

He flatly denied saying 'there are some in the village'- he was recorded saying it. Another schoolboy moment of getting backed into a corner and having to lie again to try to move on.

Telling the media that you don't like the way your comments were reported is like telling teacher you didn't like the way they marked your homework: petulant and tone-deaf.

Every time he says 'in terms of stuff' and 'in terms of certain things' he sounds like he wants to know about running an elite football team, but doesn't. 

He's thrown DC-C under the bus [again!] "Suspension meant he was de-conditioned" [?!] Implies that DCC doesn't train well enough to keep himself match fit. Will everyone who's had a suspension have to play with the kids for a week?

The way the club cut the film abruptly after "Which stats?"/"Everything positive", suggests things broke down at that point. The idiotic "running stats, aggression stats" comments will have been interrogated and Jones won't have been able to cope.

The press gave him every chance to not talk about Luton, and what did he start talking about again under no pressure whatsoever? 

There's a Alastair Campbell quote about politicians whose scandal stays on the front page for 7 days are doomed. Jones has been talking about himself, not his players for a lot longer than that.

The press might be wankers, but they can smell a bull-shitter who's out of his depth, and they will keep going after him.

 

 

[Yorkshire Saint]

I think I have worked it out...

Nathan Jones presents himself as completely incompetent, the team present themself as completely incompetent and we lull the next opponents in to a false sense of security. Then bang ! We hit them with everything we have ......

[FarehamSaintJames]

7 hours ago, Golac's Cunning Stunts said:

He says we are good tactically and we just need to score more goals than opposition

Is that it!? After all this time, I had no idea that lack of goals was our problem…! 🤣

[Weston Super Saint]

3 minutes ago, FarehamSaintJames said:

Is that it!? After all this time, I had no idea that lack of goals was our problem…! 🤣

Does that mean we've now nailed aggressiveness AND front footedness?

[FarehamSaintJames]

I’d like to nail my aggressiveness and front footedness by saying aggressively and front footedly: Nathan Jones - bugger off, you aren’t welcome here.

[egg]

22 minutes ago, Yorkshire Saint said:

I think I have worked it out...

Nathan Jones presents himself as completely incompetent, the team present themself as completely incompetent and we lull the next opponents in to a false sense of security. Then bang ! We hit them with everything we have ......

We do all of that already mate...it's just that all that we have to hit them with is a load of shite. 

[Turkish]

9 hours ago, Golac's Cunning Stunts said:

The questions asked at the presser were good. He is either not very good at articulating particulars about his strategy and thoughts, or he doesn't know what he is doing 🙂

On another note, 95% of it was about him, not the team, which is very sad.

I think he simply isn’t very articulate but also enjoys his image. He’s not the polished, media trained, slick personality that the top managers are. He seems to quite like the image of being the Welsh mining village boy done good through graft, aggression and passion. He’s obviously not stupid and does know what he’s doing, the championship is still a very very tough league to do well in, you don’t survive if you haven’t got a clue. It’s not the sort of image the premier league wants these days and It’s a bit dated and a bit cringey at times but he seems to thrive on telling everyone his background. I’ve met a few people like that in business over the years, always going on about how well they’ve done despite growing up on a rough council estate, honestly no one cares. 

Edited 10 February, 2023 by Turkish

[Golac's Cunning Stunts]

4 minutes ago, Turkish said:

I think he simply isn’t very articulate but also enjoys his image. He’s not the polished, media trained, slick personality that the top managers are. He seems to quite like the image of being the Welsh mining village boy done good through graft, aggression and passion. He’s obviously not stupid and does know what he’s doing, the championship is still a very very tough league to do well in, you don’t survive if you haven’t got a clue. It’s not the sort of imagine the premier league wants these days and It’s a bit dated and a bit cringy at times but he seems to thrive on telling everyone his background. I’ve met a few people like that in business over the years, always going on about how well they’ve done despite growing up on a rough council estate, honestly no one cares. 

Perfect summary of Nathan

[ScandiSaint]

17 minutes ago, Turkish said:

I think he simply isn’t very articulate but also enjoys his image. He’s not the polished, media trained, slick personality that the top managers are. He seems to quite like the image of being the Welsh mining village boy done good through graft, aggression and passion. He’s obviously not stupid and does know what he’s doing, the championship is still a very very tough league to do well in, you don’t survive if you haven’t got a clue. It’s not the sort of imagine the premier league wants these days and It’s a bit dated and a bit cringy at times but he seems to thrive on telling everyone his background. I’ve met a few people like that in business over the years, always going on about how well they’ve done despite growing up on a rough council estate, honestly no one cares. 

Just watched some the pre-match press conference and really didn't think he came across that badly. I like that he answers honestly even if it isn't always polished. Although some of the answers did have a touch of David Brent... Yes he loves banging on about Wales but can't understand the anti-Welsh comments that appear from time-to-time, just moronic. 

While results are rubbish he deserves criticism but I think the micro-analysis of everything he says and does is a bit over the top. Most of his answers regarding player selection (B-team game last week, use of Armstrong etc) seemed perfectly reasonable. But bloody hell we need a result on Saturday. Very difficult for the board to keep him beyond that without a win. 

Edited 10 February, 2023 by ScandiSaint

[SotonianWill]

even my aggression stats are up under jones

[Turkish]

9 minutes ago, ScandiSaint said:

Just watched some the pre-match press conference and really didn't think he came across that badly. I like that he answers honestly even if it isn't always polished. Although some of the answers did have a touch of David Brent... Yes he loves banging on about Wales but can't understand the anti-Welsh comments that appear from time-to-time, just moronic. 

While results are rubbish he deserves criticism but I think the micro-analysis of everything he says and does is a bit over the top. Most of his answers regarding player selection (B-team game last week, use of Armstrong etc) seemed perfectly reasonable. But bloody hell we need a result on Saturday. Very difficult for the board to keep him beyond that without a win. 

Pretty much spot on. If we'd won six and lost one then everyone would be laughing about it, what a character etc. Because we're doing shit he's a welsh twat. I dont think he said anything particularly wrong yesterday but everyones jumping all over it again because he didn' say exactly what they want them to hear.

[saint lard]

The secret diary of Nathan Jones. Age 49 1/2 …….😁

https://leagueoneminus10.blogspot.com/2023/02/the-secret-diary-of-nathan-jones-aged.html?spref=fb&fbclid=IwAR3dQR-FPzB7v7sZm2ADeYQMkx3WZjacSI2cq8oETkHgCNu-_0_kYHg9ypQ&m=1

Edited 10 February, 2023 by saint lard

[Fan The Flames]

If we had won six, he wouldn't have thrown players under the bus, moaned about fans or delected blame. That's what people have a problem with. He would possibly have been insufferable but that would be forgiven if we were mid table.

[Weston Super Saint]

1 hour ago, Turkish said:

Pretty much spot on. If we'd won six and lost one then everyone would be laughing about it, what a character etc. Because we're doing shit he's a welsh twat. I dont think he said anything particularly wrong yesterday but everyones jumping all over it again because he didn' say exactly what they want them to hear.

The pattern seems to be that when the (his) emotions are taken out of the equation, the pressers are fairly normal.  Nothing unusual said yesterday (he's definitely not the greatest orator), but nothing really controversial either, although he kind of brushed off the B team selections with some waffle that didn't make sense.

Catch him after the match / in the heat of the moment though and it all goes bat shit crazy!

[Saint86]

2 hours ago, Turkish said:

I think he simply isn’t very articulate but also enjoys his image. He’s not the polished, media trained, slick personality that the top managers are. He seems to quite like the image of being the Welsh mining village boy done good through graft, aggression and passion. He’s obviously not stupid and does know what he’s doing, the championship is still a very very tough league to do well in, you don’t survive if you haven’t got a clue. It’s not the sort of imagine the premier league wants these days and It’s a bit dated and a bit cringy at times but he seems to thrive on telling everyone his background. I’ve met a few people like that in business over the years, always going on about how well they’ve done despite growing up on a rough council estate, honestly no one cares. 

Working class welsh boy done good, but with a chip on his shoulder about it that would sink the titanic. 

Its a real worry that he is simply unable to articulate the details of what he is talking about, but i tend to agree that he probably does know what he's about to a reasonable level and he was manager of the year in the championship with Luton. Its clear Rasmus isn't going to sack him, and its clear he's fully alienated the fanbase. He's got nowhere to turn now other than results - deliver them and over time he'll start to win back the fans, but every dropped point will ratchet up the toxicity to ever higher levels. 

Edited 10 February, 2023 by Saint86

[Raging Bull]

The club have made their decision in bringing him in and I’m sure they’ll act when they need to. 
 

Hearing the fans constantly berating him is getting really tiresome because yeah, we all get it. But ultimately, we need the points now more than ever. 
 

It would be nice if we could just support the team instead of moaning like a gaggle of c*nts. 

[Saint Fan CaM]

To be honest I didn’t see too much wrong with that presser. Yes sure he’s no Klopp and there’s very little humour in his responses, but then he has to be very careful about every last breath he takes for fear of everything being taken out of context.

Thing for me is that he can’t help being Nathan Jones and if being the best version of himself meant we were winning games, attitudes towards him would be more forgiving. If he’s not capable of managing a Prem club then there’s little he can do about that…I don’t doubt he cares or wants not to succeed. Same as some players…they all truly want to succeed at whatever level they’ve reached, but sometimes that level is too much much for them whether that be physically, mentally or in skill. With that in mind it’s difficult not to feel sorry for NJ…he knows it’s not working despite working hard to turn it around…his management at Saints is failing. It’s for the Board to determine whether that position continues or not. Vitriol towards NJ is perhaps not warranted for that reason…it should be aimed entirely at the person(s) employing him.

[coalman]

2 hours ago, Weston Super Saint said:

Does that mean we've now nailed aggressiveness AND front footedness?

If we nail our front foot down we're going to get even worse at defending crosses.

[saintant]

11 minutes ago, Saint Fan CaM said:

To be honest I didn’t see too much wrong with that presser. Yes sure he’s no Klopp and there’s very little humour in his responses, but then he has to be very careful about every last breath he takes for fear of everything being taken out of context.

Thing for me is that he can’t help being Nathan Jones and if being the best version of himself meant we were winning games, attitudes towards him would be more forgiving. If he’s not capable of managing a Prem club then there’s little he can do about that…I don’t doubt he cares or wants not to succeed. Same as some players…they all truly want to succeed at whatever level they’ve reached, but sometimes that level is too much much for them whether that be physically, mentally or in skill. With that in mind it’s difficult not to feel sorry for NJ…he knows it’s not working despite working hard to turn it around…his management at Saints is failing. It’s for the Board to determine whether that position continues or not. Vitriol towards NJ is perhaps not warranted for that reason…it should be aimed entirely at the person(s) employing him.

Well many of us are calling out the person who employed him after using a raft of data that clearly was misinterpreted in a big way. Jones is being allowed to carry on to avoid damaging some bigger egos at the club. 

[Golac's Cunning Stunts]

21 minutes ago, Raging Bull said:

The club have made their decision in bringing him in and I’m sure they’ll act when they need to. 
 

Hearing the fans constantly berating him is getting really tiresome because yeah, we all get it. But ultimately, we need the points now more than ever. 
 

It would be nice if we could just support the team instead of moaning like a gaggle of c*nts. 

Leaving Nathan out of it for now. It's hard supporting a team where half of them don't appear to care too much about playing for the shirt. Hope that is going to change. As it stands, we have every right to be moaning especially on a Mong board as Turkish used to call it