Russell Martin

[VectisSaint]

Do we know who else has gone. Given Rusk is taking training I assume all the coaching staff, but not clear how far that extends.

[SambaMaverick]

8 minutes ago, Toussaint said:

Listening to Talk Sport this morning Jim White mentioned on  more than one occasion the he get his info directly from Dragan.  In fact Dragan text him during the show, saying he would come on at some point and talk about what has happened. Simon also said something I didn't quite understand, about the people / person around Dragan that had badly let him down, talking in the past tense. I don't know if more sackings are in the air? 

Why doesn't the gullible fool cut out the middleman and talk directly to the fans rather than wanking in the corner to his mate Jim, who hasn't been relevant in about 10 years.

[Gloucester Saint]

14 minutes ago, Toussaint said:

Listening to Talk Sport this morning Jim White mentioned on  more than one occasion the he get his info directly from Dragan.  In fact Dragan text him during the show, saying he would come on at some point and talk about what has happened. Simon also said something I didn't quite understand, about the people / person around Dragan that had badly let him down, talking in the past tense. I don't know if more sackings are in the air? 

Fucking hope so. Rasmus and Kraft need dissolvIng out of SR, we can do similar to Wolves and their relationship to Mendes for recruitment. Or go balls out for Dan Ashworth to run SR. Better than more top 6 politics, he enjoyed it at Brighton and could an interesting project to re-wire Saints.

Dragan does need another major investor or two to really do a multi club model justice but don’t mind him per se, the two Danish jokers are another story. Rasmus has been totally exposed. I’ve felt for a little while he was on the way out (or maybe just me hoping, as his sort never get their comeuppance at work).

Edited 16 December, 2024 by Gloucester Saint

[saintant]

1 minute ago, VectisSaint said:

Do we know who else has gone. Given Rusk is taking training I assume all the coaching staff, but not clear how far that extends.

It's fairly normal for the main assistants to go when a manager is sacked but haven't seen anything official to confirm or deny so far.

[Turkish]

17 minutes ago, franniesTache said:

I think a lot of the nipper have completely overblown expectations of things, they've not really seen much in the way of success and are desperate to have idols.

It's the same why you see people call a run of the mill skate midfielder a "legend" because he basically got an attendance award. 

Plus of course like our song sheet they love to copy other clubs and all this trust the process bollocks started with Wenger at Arsenal, ever since then a section of the middle class/student fanbase seem to think there's a "right way" to play football. Which is clearly bullshit as the only right way is winning

add in all the statistics available thrust under everyones noses and this whole data driven bollocks it's no wonder all the ones who have probably never played the game or are not a traditional fan are frothing at the gash over philosophies and processes. It's given nerds a voice in sport. 

As for our song sheet i cant believe we've copied that ole, ole, ole song about 6 years late. If we'd have nicked it off Napoli who did it originally not too bad but copying a song that Liverpool copied and passed off as their own years after they did it is about as cringe as it gets.

[Turkish]

my sources tell me the decision was made at half time last night. 

[saintant]

7 minutes ago, Turkish said:

my sources tell me the decision was made at half time last night. 

Presumably RM wouldn't have been actually told he was gone until the end of the game.

[Turkish]

Just now, saintant said:

Presumably RM wouldn't have been actually told he was gone until the end of the game.

i suspect he knew but doubt he'd have been told

[macca155]

4 minutes ago, Turkish said:

my sources tell me the decision was made at half time last night. 

I think that was obvious from his body language and the swiftness of the statement.

I'm sorry for him, came across as a decent guy, but 5 points halfway through the season meant adios amigo.

That begs the question as to whether the players had anything to do with it. 5 0 in the 1st half then 0 0 in the 2nd. Spurs slacking off helped, but that is quite the coincidence.

I suspect the truth is they were aware something was in the air but no specifics. Probably contributed to that ridiculous 1st 30 minutes of football. Confusion all round.

Maddison spent a lot if time consoling the Saints players at the end. Pros look after pros, Spurs had what they needed so no need to kick us when we were already in the gutter.

[Coerezza]

3 hours ago, skintsaint said:

and after that...my guess is you'll never hear from him again

Great movie btw

[scorpioeyes]

Yes, he won us promotion playing his way, but it was so obvious that that wouldn't work in the prem with the players he has. So why couldnt he see this??

[Turkish]

1 minute ago, macca155 said:

I think that was obvious from his body language and the swiftness of the statement.

I'm sorry for him, came across as a decent guy, but 5 points halfway through the season meant adios amigo.

That begs the question as to whether the players had anything to do with it. 5 0 in the 1st half then 0 0 in the 2nd. Spurs slacking off helped, but that is quite the coincidence.

I suspect the truth is they were aware something was in the air but no specifics. Probably contributed to that ridiculous 1st 30 minutes of football. Confusion all round.

Maddison spent a lot if time consoling the Saints players at the end. Pros look after pros, Spurs had what they needed so no need to kick us when we were already in the gutter.

they were a disgrace in the first half. Forget Martins tactics and philosophy bollocks, the lack of intensity was disgraceful. KWP was particularly dreadful. I've been a big fan of his but for a senior, experienced quality player he was terrible. 

[Turkish]

5 minutes ago, scorpioeyes said:

Yes, he won us promotion playing his way, but it was so obvious that that wouldn't work in the prem with the players he has. So why couldnt he see this??

or we won promotion even though we played his way, perhaps.

[Dirkdiggler]

6 minutes ago, scorpioeyes said:

Yes, he won us promotion playing his way, but it was so obvious that that wouldn't work in the prem with the players he has. So why couldnt he see this??

I would say in spite of rather than because of. 

[SWLondon Saint]

4 minutes ago, scorpioeyes said:

Yes, he won us promotion playing his way, but it was so obvious that that wouldn't work in the prem with the players he has. So why couldnt he see this??

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning–Kruger_effect

"People with limited knowledge or skills may not have the metacognitive ability to recognize their deficiencies. They may also assume they are not deficient because they tend to choose what they think is the most reasonable option. "

TLDR: He didn't know that he didn't know...

[Lord Duckhunter]

10 minutes ago, macca155 said:

I'm sorry for him, came across as a decent guy,

Decent? In what way. 
 

Hes ok when things are going well, but can’t handle it when they’re not. That’s the mark of a man, how you react to adversity . Last night summed him up. If he had any decency he would have waited until half time before hiding from the boos in the dressing room.  That tells you all you need to know about the bloke. 
 

It was a vanity project & he got exactly what he deserved, humiliating failure. 

[Lord Duckhunter]

And for the avoidance of any doubt. I do hate the bloke. 
 

I hate his boring football (last year as well as this).

I hate what he’s done to our club this season.
 

I hate him personally as well. because he’s a coward and an arrogant cock. He maybe ok in civvy street & do loads for charity & pat puppies on the head. But in his public role as a football manager, he’s an unlikeable knob who loves himself. 
 

I hate his stupid fucking Lego headed hair cut as well. 

Edited 16 December, 2024 by Lord Duckhunter

[Gloucester Saint]

Trousers will be crusty as anything with the excitement of reading LD’s post ☝️ 

[iansums]

It all started going downhill for me after he was so disrespectful about Rishi Sunak 🙄

[Turkish]

10 minutes ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

Decent? In what way. 
 

Hes ok when things are going well, but can’t handle it when they’re not. That’s the mark of a man, how you react to adversity . Last night summed him up. If he had any decency he would have waited until half time before hiding from the boos in the dressing room.  That tells you all you need to know about the bloke. 
 

It was a vanity project & he got exactly what he deserved, humiliating failure. 

cant disagree with any of that. Signs were there in the championship, got all spiteful with Adam Blackmore a couple of times after a loss. 

[malcolm waldron]

43 minutes ago, Turkish said:

my sources tell me the decision was made at half time last night. 

If true then yet again poor and weak decision making from SR.  It should have been done 30 mins earlier after the 3rd goal went in....

[Give it to Ron]

3 hours ago, LaptopSaint said:

Actually, yes. If we’re going down anyway (as all the experts on here tell me is a 100% guarantee), I’d have rather given a new guy a fresh start, untainted by failure, in the summer. 

The real culprits are Sports Republic. Four years of abysmal recruitment, no centre forward worth the name, big outgoing transfer fees wasted on players who can’t get a game. Martin was just doing what Jason Wilcox (remember him?) asked him to do. I was at SMS and it wasn’t Martin’s fault that they scored right in front of me after 37 seconds with no challenge of any kind. 

Remember the brief surge of hope when Selles came in last time we got relegated? Lasted about two games, and by the end he was broken and in no fit state to plan a promotion campaign. 

Apologies for not following the herd. And I hope I’m wrong. 

Agreed SR are responsible too and I wouldn’t lose any sleep if they left too.

I just don’t understand your reasoning to have kept him though!

Are you happy with the performances? 10 goals at home in the last 2 games? 70% possession and 0 shots in several games?
Blaming the fans for his failing tactics, forwards  60 yards apart, U shape tactics, no forwards, hanging Dibling out to dry in false 9, not picking Tall Paul and playing Sulemana over SAA, Archer etc constantly changing the back 4/5, dropping best performing players?

Is none of the above Martins fault but you would be happy seeing the same over the next 20+ games?

Edited 16 December, 2024 by Give it to Ron

[saintant]

9 minutes ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

And for the avoidance of any doubt. I do hate the bloke. 
 

I hate his boring football (last year as well as this).

I hate what he’s done to our club this season.
 

I hate him personally as well. because he’s a coward and an arrogant cock. He maybe ok in civvy street & do loads for charity & pat puppies on the head. But in his public role as a football manager, he’s an unlikeable knob who loves himself. 
 

I hate his stupid fucking Lego headed hair cut as well. 

Lighthouse will be along shortly. If not I'd like to know why he is happy to accuse me of hating RM despite the fact I've never said it.

[Gloucester Saint]

14 minutes ago, iansums said:

It all started going downhill for me after he was so disrespectful about Rishi Sunak 🙄

Politics goes in the Lounge. HTH. I don’t give a shit if he ignored Sunak, Starmer, Davey, Farage, whoever. He didn’t want to be part of a political photo op during a game.

Martin was a terrible football manager at PL level but you’d have to support a political party like a football club yourself to be bothered by that.

Edited 16 December, 2024 by Gloucester Saint

[Chez]

Still don't understand why we gave him a new contract in the summer. I dont have the stats, but I would imagine a sizeable percentage of managers of promoted clubs don't last the season. We ourselves had Adkins with a huge amount of credit under his belt get the tin tack. Why on earth didn't we sit tight for 6 months and see how the lann lied before giving him a new deal. What was he going to do, leave us for someone else? Who? Unless a contract extension had to be given on promotion, I really don't understand why we did it.

 

 

[OldNick]

16 minutes ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

Decent? In what way. 
 

Hes ok when things are going well, but can’t handle it when they’re not. That’s the mark of a man, how you react to adversity . Last night summed him up. If he had any decency he would have waited until half time before hiding from the boos in the dressing room.  That tells you all you need to know about the bloke. 
 

It was a vanity project & he got exactly what he deserved, humiliating failure. 

He also spent more time than usual sitting down. I was surprised that he went into the dressing room before the half time whistle 

[Gloucester Saint]

2 minutes ago, Chez said:

Still don't understand why we gave him a new contract in the summer. I dont have the stats, but I would imagine a sizeable percentage of managers of promoted clubs don't last the season. We ourselves had Adkins with a huge amount of credit under his belt get the tin tack. Why on earth didn't we sit tight for 6 months and see how the lann lied before giving him a new deal. What was he going to do, leave us for someone else? Who? Unless a contract extension had to be given on promotion, I really don't understand why we did it.

 

 

It was probably in the contract but further evidence of Rasmus and Wilcox’s inexperience to have that instead of a significant bonus. It was hardly Neil Warnock and his record of promotions. 

Edited 16 December, 2024 by Gloucester Saint

[Badger]

1 minute ago, OldNick said:

He also spent more time than usual sitting down. I was surprised that he went into the dressing room before the half time whistle 

Put the kettle on ? 

[The Realist]

I would like to thank Russell for giving me one of my favourite seasons following Saints (now > 40 seasons). The style of football was great last season and he was the major reason we won promotion.  However, 5 points from nearly half the season is not good enough. He has been unlucky with ref/VAR decisions but we also gifted so many goals and also the same type of goal.  Perhaps not all his fault as the players are simply not good enough. I felt we ere getting better, RM was adapting (slowly) but it wasn't enough and last night, confidence drained after only 40 seconds.

There are many reasons why we are in this position : Man Utd taking Jason Wilcox, poor transfers in the summer, RM's style of football / tactics and poor quality players.  Something had to change and I feel sad that it was RM who had to go.  The correct decision in the end but still sad after last season's rebuild and success.  The players should take a long look at themselves though.  KWP was shocking last night, Downes has been way off the pace this season. Aribo/Arma not good enough.  At least Manning tried but we know isn't good enough. In general, no fight, not enough skill and not enough athleticism in this team.

Good luck to the new manager whoever it may be.... 

[beatlesaint]

3 minutes ago, Chez said:

Still don't understand why we gave him a new contract in the summer. I dont have the stats, but I would imagine a sizeable percentage of managers of promoted clubs don't last the season. We ourselves had Adkins with a huge amount of credit under his belt get the tin tack. Why on earth didn't we sit tight for 6 months and see how the lann lied before giving him a new deal. What was he going to do, leave us for someone else? Who? Unless a contract extension had to be given on promotion, I really don't understand why we did it.

 

 

Beacuse they got carried away with the promotion. They thought they had cracked it and this guy was gonna be wanted by bigger clubs cos of the way he masterminded a 4th place finish last season. Same way McCarthy and Fraser both got brand new 2 year deals as well. 

They didnt wait for reality to click back in. That was their big mistake. 

[Gloucester Saint]

Just now, Badger said:

Put the kettle on ? 

I did that once when Saints were playing at Spurs on Sky. Score was 0-1 when I boiled the kettle and made several drinks. By the time I’d made and brought the round of drinks in (I’d heard friends and family moaning) it was 4-1 to Spurs.

From another grim era under Ian Branfoot.

[OldNick]

1 minute ago, beatlesaint said:

Beacuse they got carried away with the promotion. They thought they had cracked it and this guy was gonna be wanted by bigger clubs cos of the way he masterminded a 4th place finish last season. Same way McCarthy and Fraser both got brand new 2 year deals as well. 

They didnt wait for reality to click back in. That was their big mistake. 

whoever give these extended contaacts needs firing. As for recruitment!

I still feel Bournemouth as good as anyones

[Gloucester Saint]

5 minutes ago, OldNick said:

whoever give these extended contaacts needs firing. As for recruitment!

I still feel Bournemouth as good as anyones

Their manager plays exactly how a modern PL team should between 7th and 17th. Accept you won’t win the possession stats in some games, press, use it well when you have the ball, play your quicker forwards in early but with a central striker who can hold it up.

Buy a squad of athletic, agile, technically good but not yet top, top players to fit that system. 

Worked for Adkins, Poch, Ronald and with a much shittier squad early Ralph, it’s not rocket science unless you are a dinlow from Denmark (yes Rasmus, I mean you).

Edited 16 December, 2024 by Gloucester Saint

[VectisSaint]

31 minutes ago, iansums said:

It all started going downhill for me after he was so disrespectful about Rishi Sunak 🙄

He did do one thing right.

[Saint Scott]

1 hour ago, VectisSaint said:

Do we know who else has gone. Given Rusk is taking training I assume all the coaching staff, but not clear how far that extends.

Russell Martin has been removed from the website. Gill, Calderwood, Thornton and Carl Martin are still on there at the moment.

Seems weird to remove Martin but nobody else, especially Gill 

[Badger]

6 minutes ago, Saint Scott said:

Russell Martin has been removed from the website. Gill, Calderwood, Thornton and Carl Martin are still on there at the moment.

Seems weird to remove Martin but nobody else, especially Gill 

I would have expected Calderwood to be placed temporarily in charge given his greater experience.  

[Give it to Ron]

15 minutes ago, Badger said:

I would have expected Calderwood to be placed temporarily in charge given his greater experience.  

Me too was surprised he wasn’t asked or maybe didn’t want it?

[OttawaSaint]

47 minutes ago, The Realist said:

I would like to thank Russell for giving me one of my favourite seasons following Saints (now > 40 seasons). The style of football was great last season and he was the major reason we won promotion.  However, 5 points from nearly half the season is not good enough. He has been unlucky with ref/VAR decisions but we also gifted so many goals and also the same type of goal.  Perhaps not all his fault as the players are simply not good enough. I felt we ere getting better, RM was adapting (slowly) but it wasn't enough and last night, confidence drained after only 40 seconds.

There are many reasons why we are in this position : Man Utd taking Jason Wilcox, poor transfers in the summer, RM's style of football / tactics and poor quality players.  Something had to change and I feel sad that it was RM who had to go.  The correct decision in the end but still sad after last season's rebuild and success.  The players should take a long look at themselves though.  KWP was shocking last night, Downes has been way off the pace this season. Aribo/Arma not good enough.  At least Manning tried but we know isn't good enough. In general, no fight, not enough skill and not enough athleticism in this team.

Good luck to the new manager whoever it may be.... 

Bye Russ!

[the saint in winchester]

27 minutes ago, Saint Scott said:

Russell Martin has been removed from the website. Gill, Calderwood, Thornton and Carl Martin are still on there at the moment.

Seems weird to remove Martin but nobody else, especially Gill 

Maybe we are hoping Russell Martin finds a new employer soon, and the new employer is prepared to pay £20M to Saints to buy his support staff?

[Midfield_General]

1 hour ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

I hate his stupid fucking Lego headed hair cut as well. 

Really? Well that’s a newsflash, you should have mentioned it. 

[spyinthesky]

39 minutes ago, The Realist said:

I would like to thank Russell for giving me one of my favourite seasons following Saints (now > 40 seasons). The style of football was great last season and he was the major reason we won promotion.  However, 5 points from nearly half the season is not good enough. He has been unlucky with ref/VAR decisions but we also gifted so many goals and also the same type of goal.  Perhaps not all his fault as the players are simply not good enough. I felt we ere getting better, RM was adapting (slowly) but it wasn't enough and last night, confidence drained after only 40 seconds.

There are many reasons why we are in this position : Man Utd taking Jason Wilcox, poor transfers in the summer, RM's style of football / tactics and poor quality players.  Something had to change and I feel sad that it was RM who had to go.  The correct decision in the end but still sad after last season's rebuild and success.  The players should take a long look at themselves though.  KWP was shocking last night, Downes has been way off the pace this season. Aribo/Arma not good enough.  At least Manning tried but we know isn't good enough. In general, no fight, not enough skill and not enough athleticism in this team.

Good luck to the new manager whoever it may be.... 

I have to agree with your comments.
KWP is one of my favourite players who consistently puts in good performances but he was not very good last night although I think he was often exposed along Spurs left flank.
Downes was one of our top players last season but it is no real surprise why West Ham werent that worried to keep him and then negotiated a decent fee for him.
Manning, who to my mind, is no more than an average Championship player, exceeded my assumptions last night and put in a very decent shift.
Spot on with Aribo and Arma, the later in particular last night.
Fernandes did OK and Dibling excelled going forward and is beginning to slowly improve on his against the ball play.
Currently we are shipping vast amounts of goals but I reckon our back line is not as bad as the goal difference indicates although it was very porous last night.
Midfield is nowhere near strong enough to offer protection and as far the forward line is concerned, what can I say apart from nondescript.
I reckon most teams could play with a youth team player in goal as we never seem to threaten the important area between the opponents goal posts.
The club seems to have gone for quantity over quality when the amount of players did not contribute anything last night ie
Tall Pall,
Taylor,
Bella Kochap
Bereton Diaz
Lallana
Fraser
Bree
Edwards
Ugochukwu  Loan  
Cornet             "
Stewart        Injured (permanently?)
Larios              "                "
Smallbone     Injured
plus Sulemana who got hauled off after 15 mins and has contributed very little since his £20m+ transfer

[Hairlesshero]

2 hours ago, VectisSaint said:

Do we know who else has gone. Given Rusk is taking training I assume all the coaching staff, but not clear how far that extends.

What is known about our interim manager? Any insights?

[Lee On Solent Saint]

1 hour ago, The Realist said:

I would like to thank Russell for giving me one of my favourite seasons following Saints (now > 40 seasons). The style of football was great last season and he was the major reason we won promotion.  However, 5 points from nearly half the season is not good enough. He has been unlucky with ref/VAR decisions but we also gifted so many goals and also the same type of goal.  Perhaps not all his fault as the players are simply not good enough. I felt we ere getting better, RM was adapting (slowly) but it wasn't enough and last night, confidence drained after only 40 seconds.

There are many reasons why we are in this position : Man Utd taking Jason Wilcox, poor transfers in the summer, RM's style of football / tactics and poor quality players.  Something had to change and I feel sad that it was RM who had to go.  The correct decision in the end but still sad after last season's rebuild and success.  The players should take a long look at themselves though.  KWP was shocking last night, Downes has been way off the pace this season. Aribo/Arma not good enough.  At least Manning tried but we know isn't good enough. In general, no fight, not enough skill and not enough athleticism in this team.

Good luck to the new manager whoever it may be.... 

You've been a fan for 40 odd years and last season was one of your favourites? Fuck me, you are easily pleased. 

Edited 16 December, 2024 by Lee On Solent Saint

[Vancouver Saint]

Good post from Francis1947 way back in the thread. 

SR my concern here. RM earned 10 games in the PL to prove himself...it was very clear well before then that he was out of his depth. For me the Leicester game at home was the breaking point...2-0 up at half-time...a bad goal to make it 2-1 and change the momentum...the game screamed for some experience, a calm head and control in the middle of the pitch...with Lallana on the bench he brings on...a not fully recovered Smallbone who re-injures himself within 10 mins and doesn't touch the ball once. It told me this guy plays favourites, not skill or what the team needs. 

Rasmus Ankerson should be the next to stand up and admit his performance has been terrible. I blame him for our precipitous fall with the outrageous gamble on Nathan Jones - surely the worst PL Managerial appointment ever when we were in a position to hire a considerable managerial talent. compounded by the 'cop out' Selles appointment. It is abundantly clear Ankerson was not the magic in the potion at Brentford. 

Moving forward. Dragan to get a fellow investor at the same level. Ankerson out. Get a decent Director of Football, someone who knows football (duh). 

For Manager...I'm a dreamer...would still like Potter...sold on a three-year deal along the lines of we expect to be relegated this season - miracle turnaround if not...bring us back up as a proper PL club within three years. Otherwise, Moyes short-term to get the best out of our senior players and restore some defensive stability.
 

[Wade Garrett]

2 hours ago, Turkish said:

my sources tell me the decision was made at half time last night. 

I did ask my mate if Martin would get sacked at half-time.  Would have been funny seeing Potter on the touch line in the second half.

[Dman]

50 minutes ago, Badger said:

I would have expected Calderwood to be placed temporarily in charge given his greater experience.  

Perhaps its more a case of new man, new ideas. Whatever the fuck the previous mob were doing wasn't working. 

Calderwood and C. Martin feel like Club appointments, I could see them staying. No chance thornton or Gill stick around though. 

[Dark Munster]

2 hours ago, Toussaint said:

Simon also said something I didn't quite understand, about the people / person around Dragan that had badly let him down, talking in the past tense. I don't know if more sackings are in the air? 

Please, please, please let that person be Rasmus W. Ankersen!

[saintant]

1 hour ago, saintant said:

Lighthouse will be along shortly. If not I'd like to know why he is happy to accuse me of hating RM despite the fact I've never said it.

Ah, so it's 2 tier Lighthouse then - one rule for some and another rule for others 🙂

[Dman]

2 hours ago, Toussaint said:

Listening to Talk Sport this morning Jim White mentioned on  more than one occasion the he get his info directly from Dragan.  In fact Dragan text him during the show, saying he would come on at some point and talk about what has happened. Simon also said something I didn't quite understand, about the people / person around Dragan that had badly let him down, talking in the past tense. I don't know if more sackings are in the air? 

i know its Alex Crook, but he was spouting out on TS yesterday and he also hinted at Dragan losing faith in Ankersen. 

I actually feel a bit for Dragan - He's putting his money forward and you can't really knock the investment we've made... Its the 'football people' that have let him down. This is all on Ankersen imo. 

I do think that SR will come good as owners though - we just need to keep Ankersens filthy mits off the football side. 

[david in sweden]

RM did well last season, despite having lost; JWP and Tella at the start, but soldiered on with a squad that included 5 loan players.

Those 20+ unbeaten games have seemingly passed unnoticed by many, and the neutrals who thought that Leeds were cheated 

out of the third promotion place might want to recall that we did actually beat Leeds THREE times last season.

 

Dedicated to his " Russball"  tactics, which might have worked better with an experienced squad, he didn't have the quality subs.

necessary for Prem. level and having lost; Stu. A, Carlos Alvarez and Che Adams he watched his tactics falter ..and didn't have a Plan B.

 

A bit too much of  a "Mr. Nice Guy" who loved them all like a father, but maybe should have thrown a few boots around the dressing room,

instead of praising those who weren't up to the task.  You can't wait to  "train"  players up in the Prem. - they need to be ready from Day 1.

Young talents like Dibling and Fernandes showed up from the very start and they look better than some others in the club who already have

hundreds of games to their credit.  Too many players were played out of their best position, although too often it was through necessity.

 

If he eventually gets back into the game (after a winter on a beach somewhere), he may well continue with his possession-style tactics, but

it's unlikely to work at the highest level, unless he has a Board willing to spend " big money" on a more competent squad who can succeed with it.