Russell Martin

[Saintsfanuk]

I don't think we have that good of a squad for this division, the transfer window was abysmal. We have got some really talented players but overall squad for this division seems a mess.

Sunderland and tonight we've just been bullied, Ipswich had no problem flying into tackles and stopping us, and doing lots of little fouls to stop us. Sunderland constantly fouled us any time we got near them with the ball.

We seen to lose any 50/50 get tackled super easy which then leads to someone running through and not getting challenged and they score.

We have an attack that failed miserably in the Premier League and is no better now, Adams and Armstrong are pathetic strikers. 

We need some muscle and destroyers in the side who are ready to fight teams in this division, we just look weak and pathetic hence the steam rollings we have been getting.

As for Martin, I was on the fence until he put Aribo in midfield... only a moron would do that with the other options we have. 

 

[pimpin4rizeal]

1 hour ago, Nemi said:

Pep is successful because he’s far more pragmatic than any of these idiots we’ve hired. Yes, it’s possession based but he’s far more likely to mix it up when needed and he’s built one of the most physically strong teams in the league. Meanwhile, we get bullied trying to pursue something even Pep doesn’t.

Martin and Selles are sort of managers who would bench Haaland because he doesn’t fit their style.

Having the only teams he’s managed being Barca Bayern and city probably helps as well .. even jones would succeed in those jobs .. I’d like to see how  good pep would be at a Everton or similar job 

Edited 19 September, 2023 by pimpin4rizeal

[hypochondriac]

13 minutes ago, Saintsfanuk said:

I don't think we have that good of a squad for this division, the transfer window was abysmal. We have got some really talented players but overall squad for this division seems a mess.

Sunderland and tonight we've just been bullied, Ipswich had no problem flying into tackles and stopping us, and doing lots of little fouls to stop us. Sunderland constantly fouled us any time we got near them with the ball.

We seen to lose any 50/50 get tackled super easy which then leads to someone running through and not getting challenged and they score.

We have an attack that failed miserably in the Premier League and is no better now, Adams and Armstrong are pathetic strikers. 

We need some muscle and destroyers in the side who are ready to fight teams in this division, we just look weak and pathetic hence the steam rollings we have been getting.

As for Martin, I was on the fence until he put Aribo in midfield... only a moron would do that with the other options we have. 

 

We have a squad that - regardless of its deficiencies - is clearly good enough for top six at a minimum. Ignoring everything else for a minute this means they are clearly underperforming at present and it's primarily due to the manager no matter how much he tries to pass the buck with talk about scar tissue (wheres the scar tissue for Leicester ffs?). I think the pressure is getting to him.

[HKsaint]

Let’s fight for another relegation battle. 

[revolution saint]

9 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

We have a squad that - regardless of its deficiencies - is clearly good enough for top six at a minimum. Ignoring everything else for a minute this means they are clearly underperforming at present and it's primarily due to the manager no matter how much he tries to pass the buck with talk about scar tissue (wheres the scar tissue for Leicester ffs?). I think the pressure is getting to him.

Agree.  The squad is a decent one for this division and if they look bad now, it's because they're being misused and suffering a lack of confidence due to the manager.  KWP should be ripping his opposing fullback apart but he's stuck playing in midfield, Charley can't even make the first 11 and yet Aribo starts in front of him.  I don't even think Smallbone is a bad player but it's patently obvious he's not a defensive midfielder.  

Any decent manager looks at what he's got and works out a formation from there, playing the best players in their best positions.  RM looks like a slave to a formation and system only he really understands (and I'm beginning to doubt that).

[Master Bates]

We're improving.

[richard799]

The best choice I made was to forgo my season ticket renewal as the writing was on the wall from day one..... the club announced

"We are extremely excited to welcome Russell to Southampton,' Kraft said. 'Russell was the stand-out candidate throughout our recruitment process and we are confident his strong track record, alongside the experienced leadership of our new Director of Football, Jason Wilcox, will deliver great results"

The words are slightly different but the sentiment the same when Nathan Jones was appointed.

Please explain "Stand Out Candidate?" for achieving turgid loosing football with no defence. 17 goals conceeded, useless.

Sack martin in the morning and admit another mistake.

[hypochondriac]

7 hours ago, revolution saint said:

Agree.  The squad is a decent one for this division and if they look bad now, it's because they're being misused and suffering a lack of confidence due to the manager.  KWP should be ripping his opposing fullback apart but he's stuck playing in midfield, Charley can't even make the first 11 and yet Aribo starts in front of him.  I don't even think Smallbone is a bad player but it's patently obvious he's not a defensive midfielder.  

Any decent manager looks at what he's got and works out a formation from there, playing the best players in their best positions.  RM looks like a slave to a formation and system only he really understands (and I'm beginning to doubt that).

Bazunu 

KWP THB Bednarek Manning 

Charles 

Sulemana S.Armstrong Edozie

Alcaraz 

Adams 

Play the wingback as proper wingbacks, give Alcaraz license to roam, ditch Smallbone and Adam Armstrong who are both god awful in their current positions, Fraser who is largely shite and maybe put Ameyew on if Sulemana needs changing. 

In my opinion that team beats the team we put out every day of the week. 

 

Edited 20 September, 2023 by hypochondriac

[maysie]

20 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Bazunu 

KWP THB Bednarek Manning 

Charles 

Sulemana Edozie 

S. Armstrong 

Alcaraz 

Adams 

Play the wingback as proper wingbacks, give Alcaraz license to roam, ditch Smallbone and Adam Armstrong who are both god awful in their current positions, Fraser who is largely shite and maybe put Ameyew on if Sulemana needs changing. 

In my opinion that team beats the team we put out every day of the week. 

 

Sulemana a winger in with blistering pace in midfield?

Russel???

[stevy777_x]

I d be inclined to start sulemana up front with adams.

[Professor]

Please, please, stop allowing an incompetent manager ruin our club. Get rid asap to give a real manager time to repair the damage. 
Apart from a poor track record of mid table performance, the warning was there when he insisted on having his mates here as staff. Made sure there was no one to challenge his useless decisions.

Maybe the result against Ipswich, who were two levels below us last year, will be enough for SR to take the obvious decision to sack Martin and his cronies.

 

 

[Dark Munster]

Southampton Football Club is delighted to announce that Russell Martin has been appointed as its new Men’s First Team Manager.

The 37-year-old joins on a contract that runs until 2026 at St Mary’s, after the club reached an agreement to secure his services.

Martin has spent the past two seasons as head coach of the Welsh club, earning widespread acclaim for the team’s progress and style of play during that time, as he led them to within three points of an unlikely Championship playoff berth in the most recent campaign.

Prior to his time there, Martin impressed in his first managerial role, spending a season-and-a-half at MK Dons in League One, overseeing significant improvement in the side’s performances.

Southampton FC Chairman, Henrik Kraft, said: “We are extremely excited to welcome Russell to Southampton.

“Russell was the stand-out candidate throughout our recruitment process and we are confident his strong track record, alongside the experienced leadership of our new Director of Football, Jason Wilcox, will deliver great results.”

Director of Football, Jason Wilcox, added: “Russell has shown fantastic qualities in his managerial career so far and is someone who we believe will thrive in the great environment we have here at Southampton.

“He is a fantastic fit for what we are trying to achieve, with a strong record of developing and nurturing young, talented players to fulfil their potential and deliver results on the pitch.

“We can’t wait for Russell to get started working with the team at Staplewood as we get ready for the new season.”

_______________

F*ck off Henrik Kraft.

F*ck off Jason Wilcox.

F*ck off Russell Martin.

And f*ck off Rasmus W. Ankersen, I know you're behind this shit too.

F*ck off all of you, you bunch of incompetent wankers.

[benjii]

He started Joe Aribo over Alacaraz FFS.

Out.

[Saint Keef]

Oh Fuck. He's on about analyzing this latest shambles. The same as he analyzed after the Sunderland and Leicester defeats I assume.

Telling the players to be brave!  Not at Mad Nate levels yet, but I would suggest closing the gap nicely. 

 

[Kenilworthy]

The 4-0 defeat at Aston Villa effectively broke what had looked like a decent Saints team and put us on the road to relegation. The 5-0 at Sunderland seems to have done the same thing. I don't know why the club has lost any resilience. Over the 50 plus years I have watched Saints I regularly saw us get a massive humping and then win the week after.

[Farmer Saint]

6 hours ago, hypochondriac said:

Bazunu 

KWP THB Bednarek Manning 

Charles 

Sulemana Edozie 

S. Armstrong 

Alcaraz 

Adams 

Play the wingback as proper wingbacks, give Alcaraz license to roam, ditch Smallbone and Adam Armstrong who are both god awful in their current positions, Fraser who is largely shite and maybe put Ameyew on if Sulemana needs changing. 

In my opinion that team beats the team we put out every day of the week. 

 

What the actual fuck is that team?? 

At least we kept hold of Adams AND Stewart eh? 😂

[StrangelyBrown]

We've lost 3 in a row in a season we're supposed to be hunting promotion - what more needs to be said...

[FarehamSaintJames]

That was the worst team selection this season.

Tactically clueless.

Above all, absolutely fucking boring football.

So many times we could’ve run forward and attacked and we stopped, took a touch, and passed backwards.

[Wade Garrett]

He should be sacked on the team he selected last night alone.

Also, what is this bravery he talks about?  Is it continually playing sideways and backwards until we lose it, or hoof it?  Strachan called it propaganda football and he was spot on.

The sooner he goes the better.

[Toussaint]

6 hours ago, maysie said:

Sulemana a winger in with blistering pace in midfield?

Russel???

He seemed to be spend some time at right back last night? 

[Weston Super Saint]

2 minutes ago, Wade Garrett said:

He should be sacked on the team he selected last night alone.

Also, what is this bravery he talks about?  Is it continually playing sideways and backwards until we lose it, or hoof it?  Strachan called it propaganda football and he was spot on.

The sooner he goes the better.

It's this season's 'front footedness' 

[Toussaint]

7 hours ago, HKsaint said:

Let’s fight for another relegation battle. 

We have no fight. Must be all of the “scar tissue” 

[lambtiss]

Listened to the post match interview with RM on the way home. He sounded much flatter and despondent that usual He spoke repeatedly about needing to help the players needing to lose the scar tissue from last seasons relegation.

If that is the case why is he trying to impose a style that requires huge confidence and ability and bravery on the ball whilst inevitably resulting in lots of goals conceded whilst being implemented 
?

Surely, a better approach would be playing a straightforward  style that the players are used to, say 4-4-2, with players playing in their actual positions and in a style that they are used to e. G. KWP playing as a full back not an easy inverted fekin midfielder 

 

 

[Dusic]

16 minutes ago, lambtiss said:

Listened to the post match interview with RM on the way home. He sounded much flatter and despondent that usual He spoke repeatedly about needing to help the players needing to lose the scar tissue from last seasons relegation.

If that is the case why is he trying to impose a style that requires huge confidence and ability and bravery on the ball whilst inevitably resulting in lots of goals conceded whilst being implemented 
?

Surely, a better approach would be playing a straightforward  style that the players are used to, say 4-4-2, with players playing in their actual positions and in a style that they are used to e. G. KWP playing as a full back not an easy inverted fekin midfielder 

 

 

Easy, and understandable to say this but a couple of points:

1. He has been recruited because of the style of play. He won't switch to a basic 442 because the club (Wilcox who manages the football side) don't want him to and he is asking the players to be brave and keep doing it until its natural. That won't happen any quicker if he then backs down and tells them to do something totally different for a bit.

2. A lot of these players are used/suited to this style: Bazunu, Charles, THB, Manning, Downes, Smallbone, Edozie etc. The whole idea is that the recruitment and style of play are aligned which has been a problem for years.

Not saying things are fantastic but when making significant and agreed change usually the wrong thing is to rip it up and do something else at the first signs of mistakes.

The club wanted this style so they will persist with it because they must have known it would have some teething problems to start with.

[Miltonaggro]

The only ‘scar tissue’ I’m seeing is between Russell Martin’s ears where it appears to be as thick as fuck and possibly inoperable.

We’ve had one genuinely dominating half this season and that was in the first game, on live tv, when we had Ward-Prowse and Tella pulling the strings against a very limited Sheffield Wednesday. Those couple of jammy wins, and being an affable chap,  painted over a lot of cracks in Martin’s set up and abilities. I think true to form Sport Republic will double down and attempt to ride this out until at least Christmas, and by then we are likely going to be too far adrift to make the play offs.

All that was needed this season was the appointment of a recognised, solid manager for this level who could galvanise fans and players, and round pegs in round holes through the spine of the team in recruitment. Instead we have blue sky tinkering and an attitude that the benevolent Board are more on-message  and intelligent than the peasant, dopey fans who are forecasting each debacle - very reminiscent of Lowe and Cowan in this league, and it’s currently dogshit. It’s their money but our club. 

[hypochondriac]

25 minutes ago, lambtiss said:

Listened to the post match interview with RM on the way home. He sounded much flatter and despondent that usual He spoke repeatedly about needing to help the players needing to lose the scar tissue from last seasons relegation.

If that is the case why is he trying to impose a style that requires huge confidence and ability and bravery on the ball whilst inevitably resulting in lots of goals conceded whilst being implemented 
?

Surely, a better approach would be playing a straightforward  style that the players are used to, say 4-4-2, with players playing in their actual positions and in a style that they are used to e. G. KWP playing as a full back not an easy inverted fekin midfielder 

 

 

Exactly. You could even look to transition to this new style of you're hellbent on it but you coukd do it gradually over a season. 

[Dman]

1 minute ago, Dusic said:

Easy, and understandable to say this but a couple of points:

1. He has been recruited because of the style of play. He won't switch to a basic 442 because the club (Wilcox who manages the football side) don't want him to and he is asking the players to be brave and keep doing it until its natural. That won't happen any quicker if he then backs down and tells them to do something totally different for a bit.

2. A lot of these players are used/suited to this style: Bazunu, Charles, THB, Manning, Downes, Smallbone, Edozie etc. The whole idea is that the recruitment and style of play are aligned which has been a problem for years.

Not saying things are fantastic but when making significant and agreed change usually the wrong thing is to rip it up and do something else at the first signs of mistakes.

The club wanted this style so they will persist with it because they must have known it would have some teething problems to start with.

The best managers instantly improve sides - think Poch when he came in, it took the best part of a week for him to clearly implement his style and improve us. Martin has had 3 months and (other than Sheff Weds) we look no better. 

We're making the same mistakes that Swansea made, that MK dons made, that were now making. 

It all points to me that Martin is a very average manager. 

[Saint-Michael]

He blames anything he can think of but himself and the style of play he wants, he needs to take a look in he mirror our club is being destroyed by arrogant incompetence at all levels of its managment.

[Harry_SFC]

13 minutes ago, Dusic said:

Easy, and understandable to say this but a couple of points:

1. He has been recruited because of the style of play. He won't switch to a basic 442 because the club (Wilcox who manages the football side) don't want him to and he is asking the players to be brave and keep doing it until its natural. That won't happen any quicker if he then backs down and tells them to do something totally different for a bit.

2. A lot of these players are used/suited to this style: Bazunu, Charles, THB, Manning, Downes, Smallbone, Edozie etc. The whole idea is that the recruitment and style of play are aligned which has been a problem for years.

Not saying things are fantastic but when making significant and agreed change usually the wrong thing is to rip it up and do something else at the first signs of mistakes.

The club wanted this style so they will persist with it because they must have known it would have some teething problems to start with.

Whilst I understand the point you are trying to make, I just don't like the set up. You can play a possession based game without inverting the full backs (from what I've seen it makes it harder for the CBs to pass the ball because they have no one to pass it to and it clogs up the middle of the pitch) and playing such weak personnel in central midfield.

[SaintNewForest]

Starting Aribo & Armstrong in CM with Alcaraz on the bench should be a sackable offence. 

[teamsaint]

49 minutes ago, Wade Garrett said:

He should be sacked on the team he selected last night alone.

Also, what is this bravery he talks about?  Is it continually playing sideways and backwards until we lose it, or hoof it?  Strachan called it propaganda football and he was spot on.

The sooner he goes the better.

Very little point in being “brave “if you have literally nobody to pass to, and nobody moving. Might as well lump it out of play 30 yards into their half. 

[adrian lord]

He's been in management for only 4 years, and now 3 clubs, and very mediocre results.

I cannot for the life of me understand why SR took such a gamble. We are tumbling down this league, and who know where we will bottom-out at this rate?

Edited 20 September, 2023 by adrian lord

[Dman]

One thing that struck me, which brought back a bad feeling, was towards the last 5 minutes all you could hear was the Ipswich fans signing about Martin - "sacked in the morning" & references to his time at Norwich. 

It reminded me of that horrible night against Forest where there was a similar situation. 

[Lymington Saint]

Can't see him surviving.  Just have no confidence that SR will appoint a manager who will at least get us hard to beat.  They are trying to be too clever.

[Patches O Houlihan]

I've watched every competitive game we've played under Russell Martin. Here are my thoughts. I apologise if this ends up being a long post.

Firstly I'm as pissed off as everyone else with the last three games (and with the piss weak defence/midfield we showed even in the better results earlier in the season) We are being bullied in this league: Unsurprising really, that's what happens to all the younger smaller kids when they try to play playground football. 

We may have a squad to play 4-3-3 at some stage later in the season but at the moment I think a more pragmatic choice would be 4-2-3-1 which most modern players are familiar with:

Baz - has played well the last few games. I'd stick with him.

Bednarek - has been our best CB and immediately improved things last night. Captain's armband because when he's fit he plays, he's a seasoned international, and it doesn't block us from flexible decision making elsewhere in the team. We also know from his time under Ralph that he is a striver and will set a good example like JWP did.

THB - Should be the other CB. Seems confident and I thought he's played OK so far. Has some leadership experience at England under and seems to still have some confidence. These two are also reasonably big guys so can support Baz who isn't.

KWB - Traditional right back with licence to roam forward provided no one else in the defence is AWOL. Clearly better then Bree.

Left back - Perraud. Bugger! We forced Perraud out having only played him whilst still recovering from injury at CB. 🤦‍♂️ Manning isn't a left back, but could do a job. That said the training videos seem to show a much stronger looking Larios than last season. He at least looks bigger than Edozie. 

Part of our issues in this three game run has been injuries. Bednarek out for 1.5 games and Downes out for 1.5 games, and Stephens out for all of them. This has created a personnel issue and here we come to the crux:

Two defensive midfielders. I'd chose Morgan & Big Vic. 🤦‍♂️ Bugger, we don't have them. OK Charles is a solid lad and we definitely look a whole lot better when he is playing DM so he is in. So we'll play Romeu alongside him - he's a safe pair of hands with huge experience to pass on to our 19yo DM. Oh fuck. We sold him for £3m so that he could play in the Champions League for Barcelona 🤦‍♂️  Who else is there? Aribo's a big lad, maybe he can do it (nope 🤦‍♂️), what about Downes he's been playing with the cloggers at West Ham maybe he can do it (jury's out on this one). I still think he's the best defensive partner for Charles and the 4-2-3-1 shape would really help them both. Based on the recent press conference he should be fit for Middlesborough.

OK so now we have a team and shape that isn't going to be cut though mercilessly without lube 15 times a game. That gives us a solid foundation to work with.

At striker this a no-brainer let's get the Loch Ness Drogba in. "Ross is injured boss" Bugger, that sucks as he's the only striker we've got who can win a header. This means while he's unfit there's no point in slinging corners and crosses in from the byline as every team in this league is bigger and taller than us and will just head them away for fun.

OK so Che plays as striker as he can hold it up and play a pass, but we all know Ross is in once he's properly fit. 

Right so we need two wingers and a number 10 who can play together without relying on airborne crosses. 

Wingers: 

Fraser - can do a job for us

Sam Amo - can do a job for us (but probably only when we have solid control of the midfield)

Edozie - good when played direct and beating players on the edge of the area.

Sulemana - A big bloke who was the fastest player at the World Cup. Championship defenders will be scared to death of this guy. We need to shape the attack around his skills. He may not play every minute of every game, but that's fine we have different qualities amongst the other wingers that we can bring in.

So who will be our creative 10?

We only really have two proper ones:

Stu and Charly. When either of them come on they show determination, intelligence and a willingness to drive forward and make things happen. Both get tired, and both give the ball away regularly. So we need to make sure we have a solid midfield and defence behind them (which we sort of have when Downes is fit and we play 4-2-31)

So we'll plan to switch between the two during most games. This has the benefit of keeping Stu injury free and his flowing locks puts the manager's in the shade regularly. Plus maybe we can get Charly running with the ball in the threatening Bryan Robson style that we saw under Selles that bought goals.

 

So that leaves Adam Armstrong without an obvious place. But to give him a spot you need to describe a role that he can consistently play really well, and as far as I can see he is only any good when playing as one of two strikers, or in a team that plays on the break, and we're not going to do either of those two things.

Aribo can come on and be a big bloke to fill in when our little blokes are getting shoved off the ball.

Smallbone plays as a sub in the 10 role when one of Charly or Stu is out injured.

 

As you can see our problems stem from not having enough big strong experienced defensive midfielders, and generally being a small young team. But we can mitigate this if we set up pragmatically. Russell Martin has good communication skills, a good attitude and mostly seems like a good egg. When he comes off badly is whenever he gets into his possession philosophy. I seem to remember that the Swansea fans on here back in the summer said that the great run of 9 games at the back end of last season that got them to within 3 points of the playoffs was because Russ swallowed his pride, abandoned his system and played sensible football. 

He is going to be under massive pressure this week, and it will get a whole lot worse if we perform how we usually do in the north east at the weekend.

So I bet we'll see pragmatic Russell Martin at some point soon. And if he isn't volunteering it then Wilcox needs to hold his feet to the fire until he agrees to at least try it (if nothing else to make us less predictable to play against)

If we bin off Russell before mid October we're going to look like Watford, and nobody wants that. I think we at least need to see pragmatic Russ Martin failing before we send him packing. Not least because every single training hire in the last three months has been based in his thinking and nearly all of them are from bloody Swansea.

Oh and the set piece coach needs to pull his finger out (or at least get listened to)

 

 

[Whitey Grandad]

9 hours ago, Fabrice29 said:

You’re not a serious football club if you sack a manger after 3 defeats. Nor are you a serious fan base if you demand that, pretty much 3 managers in a row.  Get a grip. 

The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is now.

[WALK DMC]

6 minutes ago, Lymington Saint said:

Can't see him surviving.  Just have no confidence that SR will appoint a manager who will at least get us hard to beat.  They are trying to be too clever.

I reckon he has two things which may help protect him in the short term: 

1. SR seemed surprised at the depth of feeling against Nathan Jones, so may not yet feel the fan pressure to do something about RM. 

2. More importantly, if SR are to fire RM, it will mean that they are saying to the fans that they have mucked up (again). I think that the loss in pride that this would entail will mean that they'll put it off until they really have to.   I give it until Christmas if we're in the bottom 3rd of the division. 

[Mr X]

It's the style of football and manner of the defeats that is the problem. I don't mind a narrow one nil loss or even a heavy defeat if we've tried and really gone at them and peppered the goal with attacking football but just didn't get the luck of the draw... but we do the complete opposite barely tested their keeper all game, get into promising positions only to pass sideways or backwards every single time! WTF how are we ever going to win games with that mentality.  It is what it is as no chance in hell are SR going to admit this isn't working and they've made yet another expensive mistake! 

[Turkish]

It was interesting listening to Will Still on a podcast the other day. He at the age of 24 took over a team in the Belgian second division with no management experience who had been getting hammered every week, bottom of the league two I think. He got thrown into the job as there was no one else to do it, called his brother who was also a coach and they both agreed that the very first thing to do is make them really hard to play against and tough to beat. It worked they turned a losing run around and finished the season strongly. The point is it’s such a bleeding obvious tactic that even a 24 year old kid who has never managed before made it work it what was pretty obviously a shit team. 

[Turkish]

6 minutes ago, Mr X said:

It's the style of football and manner of the defeats that is the problem. I don't mind a narrow one nil loss or even a heavy defeat if we've tried and really gone at them and peppered the goal with attacking football but just didn't get the luck of the draw... but we do the complete opposite barely tested their keeper all game, get into promising positions only to pass sideways or backwards every single time! WTF how are we ever going to win games with that mentality.  It is what it is as no chance in hell are SR going to admit this isn't working and they've made yet another expensive mistake! 

We are obsessed with copying Man City, without anywhere near the resources or ability to do it. We are a bad cover version, like the pissed up karaoke singer thinking he’s John Lennon but absolutely murdering Imagine. 

[bangkoksaint]

Saints with RM is like trying to take a 28 handicap golfer, dismantle and change their swing and turn them into a single figure player. It can be done but will take lots of practice, money and good coaching. Above all though it may take time and everyone needs to buy into it. In the meantime it’ll be painful with backward steps along the way and if you decide to jack it in then there’s every chance you will just remain as mediocre. Of course the coach could be changed and might make a difference but there’s no guarantees. FWIW I’m in the camp of seeing if it can be turned round - for now.

[Patches O Houlihan]

4 minutes ago, Turkish said:

It was interesting listening to Will Still on a podcast the other day. He at the age of 24 took over a team in the Belgian second division with no management experience who had been getting hammered every week, bottom of the league two I think. He got thrown into the job as there was no one else to do it, called his brother who was also a coach and they both agreed that the very first thing to do is make them really hard to play against and tough to beat. It worked they turned a losing run around and finished the season strongly. The point is it’s such a bleeding obvious tactic that even a 24 year old kid who has never managed before made it work it what was pretty obviously a shit team. 

Do you have the link for that pod please?

[Jeremy Corbyn]

4 minutes ago, Turkish said:

It was interesting listening to Will Still on a podcast the other day. He at the age of 24 took over a team in the Belgian second division with no management experience who had been getting hammered every week, bottom of the league two I think. He got thrown into the job as there was no one else to do it, called his brother who was also a coach and they both agreed that the very first thing to do is make them really hard to play against and tough to beat. It worked they turned a losing run around and finished the season strongly. The point is it’s such a bleeding obvious tactic that even a 24 year old kid who has never managed before made it work it what was pretty obviously a shit team. 

Not true that he'd not managed before, extensive experience playing football manager.

[Lee On Solent Saint]

4 minutes ago, Turkish said:

It was interesting listening to Will Still on a podcast the other day. He at the age of 24 took over a team in the Belgian second division with no management experience who had been getting hammered every week, bottom of the league two I think. He got thrown into the job as there was no one else to do it, called his brother who was also a coach and they both agreed that the very first thing to do is make them really hard to play against and tough to beat. It worked they turned a losing run around and finished the season strongly. The point is it’s such a bleeding obvious tactic that even a 24 year old kid who has never managed before made it work it what was pretty obviously a shit team. 

But we employ Pep wannabes who are determined to be the next football messiah. Why the fuck we are so hellbent on trying to be the next Man City I just don't understand. 

[Turkish]

2 minutes ago, Patches O Houlihan said:

Do you have the link for that pod please?

https://www.thehighperformancepodcast.com/podcast/willstill
 

[Patches O Houlihan]

Just now, Lee On Solent Saint said:

But we employ Pep wannabes who are determined to be the next football messiah. Why the fuck we are so hellbent on trying to be the next Man City I just don't understand. 

Because when you have a good team likely to get promoted that is playing well, all the 'also rans' will set up defensively and you'll need to play through 10 players packed in the box in order to score goals. Playing on the break, or Ralph style pressing doesn't work then.

[skintsaint]

10 hours ago, Harry_SFC said:

Always thought Warnock was an underrated manager.

Does the basics, which surprising works well in the lower leagues.

[Patches O Houlihan]

5 minutes ago, Turkish said:

https://www.thehighperformancepodcast.com/podcast/willstill
 

Look at you! All your anti-hipster raving and it turns out you're a regular listener to the most lefty hipster podcast in Britain 😁😆😂🤣😅 

You'll be telling us than veganism is the way forward next 😁

Cheers for the link!

Edited 20 September, 2023 by Patches O Houlihan
spell check doesn't like lefties either

[Turkish]

2 minutes ago, Patches O Houlihan said:

Look at you! All your anti-hipster raving and it turns out you're a regular listener to the most lefty hipster podcast in Britain 😁😆😂🤣😅 

You'll be telling us than veganism is the way forward next 😁

Cheers for the link!

Oh I know 🤣

something to listen to whilst out walking, although latest woo woo leftie advice is not to listen to anything as you should be connecting with nature, so the days of Jake Humphries might be coming to an end 🤣🤣

[Golac's Cunning Stunts]

23 minutes ago, Turkish said:

https://www.thehighperformancepodcast.com/podcast/willstill
 

I listen to that on walks too. Perhaps we should send the link to Martin