Russell Martin

[hypochondriac]

3 minutes ago, revolution saint said:

Yeah, and hopefully that's the case.  Just don't want to be in a position where we're insisting on playing out from the back (for example) but lack the quality of player to be any good at doing that.

Or a situation where we do have players good enough to do that, but teams come up with tactics to neutralise that style and we don't have the knowledge to counter it. 

[Rebel]

We did have a style of play under Adkins - maybe not as idealistic.  

We tried to play out from the back and used the fullbacks to give us width and carry the ball forward - but we weren't adverse to playing on the break or the long ball to Rickie Lambert who would drop deep and wide to the left to receive the ball in space - and then turn and look to pass or carry it forward.  

[goodymatt]

If players come back on Wednesday as rumoured, that’s 37 days to get us playing his way. He needs to manage the outgoings and incomings to fit his style and we still don’t have a coaching team to support him yet (let’s hope that’s in place in the comings days, not sure how it works without). 

It’s a big ask to hit the ground running isn’t it? September fixtures look like our toughest run of fixtures for the entire season so dropping points in August might give us a bit of a hill to climb.

So much uncertainty and change ahead, intrigued to see what we are actually going to look like as a team by the end of the window.

[Dusic]

8 minutes ago, goodymatt said:

If players come back on Wednesday as rumoured, that’s 37 days to get us playing his way. He needs to manage the outgoings and incomings to fit his style and we still don’t have a coaching team to support him yet (let’s hope that’s in place in the comings days, not sure how it works without). 

It’s a big ask to hit the ground running isn’t it? September fixtures look like our toughest run of fixtures for the entire season so dropping points in August might give us a bit of a hill to climb.

So much uncertainty and change ahead, intrigued to see what we are actually going to look like as a team by the end of the window.

I tend to agree. There is so much uncertainty to the point that its hard to really make a convincing argument that any of our current players will definitely still be at Saints come September.

For me the sooner the outgoings happen the better. We know some players, JWP for example will give his all until it happens but some will become troublesome pretty quickly I imagine.

- Who are the leaders of this team going to be?

- Who are the first choice centre backs considering all 6 could in theory leave?

- Which players are going to get the 75 or so goals that would surely be needed for automatic promotion as a minimum?

[beatlesaint]

8 minutes ago, goodymatt said:

If players come back on Wednesday as rumoured, that’s 37 days to get us playing his way. He needs to manage the outgoings and incomings to fit his style and we still don’t have a coaching team to support him yet (let’s hope that’s in place in the comings days, not sure how it works without). 

It’s a big ask to hit the ground running isn’t it? September fixtures look like our toughest run of fixtures for the entire season so dropping points in August might give us a bit of a hill to climb.

So much uncertainty and change ahead, intrigued to see what we are actually going to look like as a team by the end of the window.

This is exactly why people are going to have to manage their expectations this season. It will be extremely tough to mount a promotion campaign given everything stated above.

I really do believe this coming season will be one of adjustment whilst next season will be the big push foir automatic promotion. 

If RM gets un within a sniff of those playoff places with 3-4 matches left he'll have done a great job.   

 

[hypochondriac]

34 minutes ago, Rebel said:

We did have a style of play under Adkins - maybe not as idealistic.  

We tried to play out from the back and used the fullbacks to give us width and carry the ball forward - but we weren't adverse to playing on the break or the long ball to Rickie Lambert who would drop deep and wide to the left to receive the ball in space - and then turn and look to pass or carry it forward.  

Of course we had a style, the point was it wasn't trumpeted or advertised as our style of play in the way that Ralph and now Martin have. I find it a bit strange that we would maybe box ourselves in in this fashion.

[Saint Garrett]

38 minutes ago, goodymatt said:

If players come back on Wednesday as rumoured, that’s 37 days to get us playing his way. He needs to manage the outgoings and incomings to fit his style and we still don’t have a coaching team to support him yet (let’s hope that’s in place in the comings days, not sure how it works without). 

It’s a big ask to hit the ground running isn’t it? September fixtures look like our toughest run of fixtures for the entire season so dropping points in August might give us a bit of a hill to climb.

So much uncertainty and change ahead, intrigued to see what we are actually going to look like as a team by the end of the window.

Lets hope he does a better job than Jones did with his pre-season.

[Fitzhugh Fella]

It’s quite something when none of us seem to know what day the players return for pre season. 
Nothing like keeping the fans up to speed. 

[bangkoksaint]

Thoughts on what points tally is acceptable after the first ten games? There are some very valid points raised above but as we know patience and football don’t go hand in hand. 
 

Very crudely, based on last season in the Championship, 1.5 points a game gets us into the top 6. So after ten games BIM the regime change, is 15 points acceptable?

[hypochondriac]

11 minutes ago, Fitzhugh Fella said:

It’s quite something when none of us seem to know what day the players return for pre season. 
Nothing like keeping the fans up to speed. 

Does it really matter? As long as they know that's the important thing. 

[Pamplemousse]

It'll be staggered anyway I imagine i.e. those on international duty will return later

[Convict Colony]

20 minutes ago, bangkoksaint said:

Thoughts on what points tally is acceptable after the first ten games? There are some very valid points raised above but as we know patience and football don’t go hand in hand. 
 

Very crudely, based on last season in the Championship, 1.5 points a game gets us into the top 6. So after ten games BIM the regime change, is 15 points acceptable?

30pts

[Fitzhugh Fella]

54 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Does it really matter? As long as they know that's the important thing. 

Next season they might withhold the fixture list for a laugh. Does it really matter? 
I suppose the answer is it’s always a good marketing ploy for selling STs to whet your customers appetites by a drip feed of info. For instance The Echo always did a photographic page of the players training the first day back (usually at the BT ground). 

[once_bitterne]

1 hour ago, Fitzhugh Fella said:

It’s quite something when none of us seem to know what day the players return for pre season. 
Nothing like keeping the fans up to speed. 

Do you think the players know?  The club still seems in a bit of a mess.  I guess the problem is what's the point of pre-season when the majority of the squad either have no intention of ever playing for us again or are players the club is actively trying to get rid off.  There must only be a handful of players who do no fit into one of these categories.

Edited 26 June, 2023 by once_bitterne

[notnowcato]

2 hours ago, beatlesaint said:

This is exactly why people are going to have to manage their expectations this season. It will be extremely tough to mount a promotion campaign given everything stated above.

I really do believe this coming season will be one of adjustment whilst next season will be the big push foir automatic promotion. 

If RM gets un within a sniff of those playoff places with 3-4 matches left he'll have done a great job.   

 

Agreed.  Prepare for a bumpy ride to begin with, if things go to plan I hope we come with a wet sail to snatch a play off spot.  Hitting the plays bang in form would be sweet.

 

[hypochondriac]

56 minutes ago, Fitzhugh Fella said:

Next season they might withhold the fixture list for a laugh. Does it really matter? 
I suppose the answer is it’s always a good marketing ploy for selling STs to whet your customers appetites by a drip feed of info. For instance The Echo always did a photographic page of the players training the first day back (usually at the BT ground). 

Haven't we had really strong season ticket sales though? I get it would be nice to know but it's not really the end of the world. 

[Turkish]

2 hours ago, Saint Garrett said:

Lets hope he does a better job than Jones did with his pre-season.

it'd be hard not too.

[revolution saint]

3 hours ago, beatlesaint said:

This is exactly why people are going to have to manage their expectations this season. It will be extremely tough to mount a promotion campaign given everything stated above.

I really do believe this coming season will be one of adjustment whilst next season will be the big push foir automatic promotion. 

If RM gets un within a sniff of those playoff places with 3-4 matches left he'll have done a great job.   

 

Agree with you to an extent and the first couple of months probably won't be plain sailing which could possibly cost us automatic promotion if there's a team that has a fantastic season.  We should be able to get play off positions though even if we have a dodgy start.

I think SR have come out and said their intention is to win the division though so it doesn't look like they've managed their expectations too much.

[hypochondriac]

15 minutes ago, revolution saint said:

Agree with you to an extent and the first couple of months probably won't be plain sailing which could possibly cost us automatic promotion if there's a team that has a fantastic season.  We should be able to get play off positions though even if we have a dodgy start.

I think SR have come out and said their intention is to win the division though so it doesn't look like they've managed their expectations too much.

I really think we do have to maximise the available time. Not having our coaching team in place is going to harm us if they aren't there when we come back. 

[Chez]

1 hour ago, notnowcato said:

Agreed.  Prepare for a bumpy ride to begin with, if things go to plan I hope we come with a wet sail to snatch a play off spot.  Hitting the plays bang in form would be sweet.

 

It could be that in the opening game or two we have lots of former Premiership players in the starting line up, that, although less motivated, will still offer the quality to help us beat maybe the likes of Sheff Wednesday. As these players depart at end of August, we might then slump, before eventually finding our feet again.  

[Miltonaggro]

Anyone know if this slacker has turned up for work yet? 

[Badger]

7 minutes ago, Miltonaggro said:

Anyone know if this slacker has turned up for work yet? 

Too busy arranging for his beard to be trimmed for the photoshoot to worry about pre-season. 

[Weston Super Saint]

23 minutes ago, Miltonaggro said:

Anyone know if this slacker has turned up for work yet? 

He has, but he was the only one there so he buggered off home again.

[AlexLaw76]

I hope he is worth it. Otherwise another one for the SR bedpost. 

[Miltonaggro]

19 minutes ago, Weston Super Saint said:

He has, but he was the only one there so he buggered off home again.

That old chestnut, I hope he gave it 20 minutes 😀

[Weston Super Saint]

40 minutes ago, Miltonaggro said:

That old chestnut, I hope he gave it 20 minutes 😀

I have it on good authority that he used his time there to dust the trophy room - so probably a good couple of hours?

[suewhistle]

2 minutes ago, Weston Super Saint said:

I have it on good authority that he used his time there to dust the trophy room - so probably a good couple of hours?

Don't be silly. He'd never heard of some of the competitions the trophies were for and had to spend half an hour googling..

 

I'd forgotten how depressing this lace gets during the close season.. Not as bad as the end of last season, but enough to remind me of the old stock market adage: sell in May and go away. Think I'll give this place a miss for a few weeks to allow things to happen in their own time..

[Tom & Gerry]

At the start of the season we will have sold players, we will have players we don't want,  we will have players that don't want to be here, we will have bought players that need to be integrated some of whom will be good and some of whom won't.

It's hard in these circumstances to see us making a fast coherent start, whoever is the Manager. Our adage in the Premier league was to get to 40 points as soon as possible and take it from there. I think we will have to adopt the same approach this season (or the Championship equivalent of 40 points)

 

 

[hypochondriac]

1 hour ago, Tom & Gerry said:

At the start of the season we will have sold players, we will have players we don't want,  we will have players that don't want to be here, we will have bought players that need to be integrated some of whom will be good and some of whom won't.

It's hard in these circumstances to see us making a fast coherent start, whoever is the Manager. Our adage in the Premier league was to get to 40 points as soon as possible and take it from there. I think we will have to adopt the same approach this season (or the Championship equivalent of 40 points)

 

 

That's ridiculous. We will still have the resources to assemble a top quality team for this division. We may have a slow start but we should be in the playoffs at the end of the season as an absolute minimum. If we fail to reach the playoffs then Martin will be under severe pressure next year if he even survives that long. 

[S-Clarke]

1 hour ago, Tom & Gerry said:

At the start of the season we will have sold players, we will have players we don't want,  we will have players that don't want to be here, we will have bought players that need to be integrated some of whom will be good and some of whom won't.

It's hard in these circumstances to see us making a fast coherent start, whoever is the Manager. Our adage in the Premier league was to get to 40 points as soon as possible and take it from there. I think we will have to adopt the same approach this season (or the Championship equivalent of 40 points)

 

 

You cannot look at it like that at all, even with the turnover we will have to endure, you have to be a special sort of shit not to string together a side capable of scrapping to be above Rotherham, Plymouth, Stoke, Watford, Norwich etc given the resources we will have. We can't be targeting avoiding relegation in this league.

[Hodgey]

Also we’re playing other teams equally unsettled in the first 10 games - Leicester, Leeds and Wednesday - good time to play them.

On the earlier question, I’d be fine with us having 13 points or so after 10 games. You’ve got to think if we are going to finally get things right we will improve as the season progresses. With 46 games I’d be happy enough to get through the first ten with a few wins and draws. Hopefully those wins at home, as after the last 2 years things could turn sour if we don’t start winning at home.

[Badger]

2 hours ago, hypochondriac said:

That's ridiculous. We will still have the resources to assemble a top quality team for this division. We may have a slow start but we should be in the playoffs at the end of the season as an absolute minimum. If we fail to reach the playoffs then Martin will be under severe pressure next year if he even survives that long. 

That’s assuming we use the resources wisely. Can we trust SR to do that ? I 
think we’re just praying that Wilcox is able to turn things round from the SR clusterfuck.

If RM doesn’t make the playoffs then I think he’ll be on his way. 

[hypochondriac]

Just now, Badger said:

That’s assuming we use the resources wisely. Can we trust SR to do that ? I 
think we’re just praying that Wilcox is able to turn things round from the SR clusterfuck.

If RM doesn’t make the playoffs then I think he’ll be on his way. 

Well there's less pressure for a start. They only have to find quality championship players which is far easier than looking for players who can perform in the prem when half to three quarters of the league have more resources than us. 

Even with average recruitment, we should comfortably be above the teams at the bottom. 

[Miltonaggro]

The Leibherr approach is needed, assembling a squad with character and nous to get us out of this league quickly. I pray that this board don’t overthink it. 

[Lee On Solent Saint]

7 hours ago, Chez said:

It could be that in the opening game or two we have lots of former Premiership players in the starting line up, that, although less motivated, will still offer the quality to help us beat maybe the likes of Sheff Wednesday. As these players depart at end of August, we might then slump, before eventually finding our feet again.  

We seem to have developed a habit of not wanting to play want away players. I'd be surprised if the ones that are still here and have moves mooted, will be involved in any of our games.

[dankiz15]

7 hours ago, Miltonaggro said:

The Leibherr approach is needed, assembling a squad with character and nous to get us out of this league quickly. I pray that this board don’t overthink it. 

Has KL got any role to play anymore with her 20% or is her only involvement to pick up dividends? Hoping her fathers legacy at least keeps her voice resonating but guessing not in all honesty. Agree about the balance of squad tho, going to be essential this year

[Nolan]

17 minutes ago, dankiz15 said:

Has KL got any role to play anymore with her 20% or is her only involvement to pick up dividends? Hoping her fathers legacy at least keeps her voice resonating but guessing not in all honesty. Agree about the balance of squad tho, going to be essential this year

20% has been diluted by the share issues. It is now less than that.

[Miltonaggro]

30 minutes ago, dankiz15 said:

Has KL got any role to play anymore with her 20% or is her only involvement to pick up dividends? Hoping her fathers legacy at least keeps her voice resonating but guessing not in all honesty. Agree about the balance of squad tho, going to be essential this year

Not Katherina Liebherr, rather obviously! Look to what happened in terms of restructuring driven by her father at Southampton football club between 2009 - 2011 and aim to emulate that approach. A rudimentary template of success that even the hard of thinking at Sport Republic might be able to follow - but don’t hold your breath. 

[Fitzhugh Fella]

14 hours ago, suewhistle said:

Don't be silly. He'd never heard of some of the competitions the trophies were for and had to spend half an hour googling..

 

I'd forgotten how depressing this lace gets during the close season.. Not as bad as the end of last season, but enough to remind me of the old stock market adage: sell in May and go away. Think I'll give this place a miss for a few weeks to allow things to happen in their own time..

We live in depressing times - open your eyes 😀

[wild-saint]

11 minutes ago, Fitzhugh Fella said:

We live in depressing times - open your eyes 😀

to be fair you could be living in Bali with financial security and you would be considering slitting your wrists. 

[suewhistle]

32 minutes ago, Fitzhugh Fella said:

We live in depressing times - open your eyes 😀

Don't patronise me, Duncan.

 

I've never voted Tory but I can distinguish between a specialist football forum and the rest of the world, immerse myself in a novel without guiltily debating whether I should increase my food bank standing order..

[sadoldgit]

15 hours ago, suewhistle said:

Don't be silly. He'd never heard of some of the competitions the trophies were for and had to spend half an hour googling..

 

I'd forgotten how depressing this lace gets during the close season.. Not as bad as the end of last season, but enough to remind me of the old stock market adage: sell in May and go away. Think I'll give this place a miss for a few weeks to allow things to happen in their own time..

Not a bad call to be fair. We are already edging towards a meltdown as we haven’t signed anyone yet despite the season not starting for several weeks and there has already been speculation as to when our brand new manager could be sacked! Enjoy your break!

[Osvaldorama]

21 hours ago, Saint Garrett said:

Let’s hope he does a better job than Jones did with his pre-season.

Will be very difficult. Nathan Jones watched 5 or 6 of our previous games apparently. High standards 

[Give it to Ron]

50 minutes ago, sadoldgit said:

Not a bad call to be fair. We are already edging towards a meltdown as we haven’t signed anyone yet despite the season not starting for several weeks and there has already been speculation as to when our brand new manager could be sacked! Enjoy your break!

We have signed someone as of 1st July Tino’s replacement 😉

[Tom & Gerry]

18 hours ago, S-Clarke said:

You cannot look at it like that at all, even with the turnover we will have to endure, you have to be a special sort of shit not to string together a side capable of scrapping to be above Rotherham, Plymouth, Stoke, Watford, Norwich etc given the resources we will have. We can't be targeting avoiding relegation in this league.

I hope you are right but our resources got us 25 points last season. I also remember our previous experiences of being relegated and I take in to account SR's patchy recruitment record. I'd like to be optimistic but I prefer to be cautious. Yes there are teams we should beat but there will be some tough nuts in the top half of the table.

[hypochondriac]

2 minutes ago, Tom & Gerry said:

I hope you are right but our resources got us 25 points last season. I also remember our previous experiences of being relegated and I take in to account SR's patchy recruitment record. I'd like to be optimistic but I prefer to be cautious. Yes there are teams we should beat but there will be some tough nuts in the top half of the table.

Because our resources are tiny for the prem and it's a much smaller pool of players who can do a job in the top league. We could most likely buy almost any player from the 2nd and 3rd divisions if we really wanted to. You'd have to really fail to not make the playoffs. 

[Tom & Gerry]

5 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Because our resources are tiny for the prem and it's a much smaller pool of players who can do a job in the top league. We could most likely buy almost any player from the 2nd and 3rd divisions if we really wanted to. You'd have to really fail to not make the playoffs. 

But last season I was told on here that most of our players weren't premier league level and would struggle in the Championship.

[Miltonaggro]

5 hours ago, Osvaldorama said:

Will be very difficult. Nathan Jones watched 5 or 6 of our previous games apparently. High standards 

But they were VHS videos he picked up at a British Heart Foundation shop in Luton. His expertise encompasses our FA, League, ZDS, and JPT cup finals along with a Channon & Ball special and Matt Le Tissier Golden Goals compilation. 

[Give it to Ron]

Official: Russell Martin’s coaching staff has been confirmed, with Matt Gill joining as assistant manager, Dean Thornton as goalkeeper coach, Rhys Owen as sports scientist & Ben Parker as an analyst #saintsfc

[hypochondriac]

44 minutes ago, Tom & Gerry said:

But last season I was told on here that most of our players weren't premier league level and would struggle in the Championship.

Even if that were true which it isn't, we shouldn't have too much trouble recruiting more than enough quality for the division we are now in. Our main issue last season was a lack of experience in the squad and a confused style of play along with some players who didn't suit how we wanted to play. We actually had quite a lot of quality individuals (hence why so many are in demand) we just had little squad depth and we couldn't fashion the players we did haveinto a successful team. With Martin we should have a recognised style of play from the start and hopefully enough financial resources to purchase players who suit that style. It should be much more cohesive at the very least even if it ultimately isn't successful. 

Edited 27 June, 2023 by hypochondriac