Next Season

[spyinthesky]

Unless some sort of miracle happens we are consigned to return to the Championship next season.

Interested in opinions of what you would do if you were in charge of the club?

1. Stick with RM and team and avoid having to shell out millions in compensation in the hope he could tweak playing style to compete better next season.
2. Bring in another Manager with a different playing style but assume we are already down with a relatively weak squad.
3. Options for January window.
     Try to sell KWP at a reduced price to at least release some value?
     Try to offload others who have value and who's contracts may not have salary reductions for relegation.
4. Look to tie Tyler Dibling down to a longer contract?
    Doubt if his agent would agree to this.
5. Consider selling up as none of the three clubs in the Sports Republic ownership are pulling up trees!!!!!?

[chiknsmack]

If I were in charge I'd be trying to stay in the PL. Ramsdale, KWP, Sugawara, Dibling, and Fernandes are all good enough for a mid-table PL side, and it's better to start next season with those five and try to find another eight or ten of the same over the next few seasons to become an entrenched top half side/contender for Europe than to go back down to the Championship and MAYBE keep one or two of them. I disagree with point 2; I'm not assuming we're already down with a relatively weak squad. (I AM assuming we're down with the current manager; RM would legitimately need a miracle to stay up).

That said, if staying up isn't an option, I'd probably keep RM. He's gotten promotion before, and the squad he'd have next season would be stronger and more used to his style of play than the one he got promoted last season (assuming we only lose the above listed five, Charlie Taylor who left Burnley because he didn't fancy another season in the Championship and so presumably would ditch us too, and a couple of youngsters like SAA). But where would that get us; back in the Prem with RM at the helm and a weaker squad than we have now? Then giving him eight or ten games before considering sacking him if we don't have a double-figure points haul? If/when we get to that point of consideration, do we keep him again and accept relegation again so he can get promotion from the Championship for a third time in 2027/28?

The plan to become a yoyo club and hope we don't slip up and become a midtable Championship club is a dumb one; the plan MUST be to become an established mid-table PL club because mid-table in the Championship (or worse) is hardly a life worth living (though I know some of you disagree and apparently would enjoy following the club when they win ten or fifteen games a year in the Champ or L1 with affordable tickets). Keeping RM doesn't accomplish that, so even if you're certain that keeping him means we're down this season and will walk the Championship next season (which is my position), I can understand giving him the sack now.

With respect to point 3, I think we'll struggle to sell KWP. An acceptable club can give him an acceptable contract and give us a few million quid in January, or they can wait until July and give him the few million instead as a signing bonus when he signs as a free agent. If I was him I know which one I'd choose.

[Holmes_and_Watson]

Big Sam and Little Sam combo PL survival.

[BarberSaint]

iI hope everyone agrees that trying to stay up is the best option as doing so gives us greater certainty and probably financial stability. Otherwise we should get rid of the remaining lot from the season before last and probably our better options and we're almost certainly going to have to expect the playoffs as our best way up and then we'll be in the same situation as we are now although we may have more money to spend overall.

I see no reason to keep Martin if we do go down. His record will be of relegation and there's nothing to show that he'll suddenly become a good manager and do well with what is likely to be an even weaker squad,  assuming we again come back up. He's shown what he's about and it's nothing. I think if we're in the mire in January that making as much money as possible is the sensible thing to do.

I wonder if the owners are going to seek other investment. Nothing suggests they are e.g the loan on assets and  I don't see what they'll do.   I'm not  sure they have any idea, either.  

 

I think we just stumble on.

[Pamplemousse]

I want a manager who can not only get us promoted but keep us in the league. Ultimately if we do go down (and we haven't sacked Martin) then he shouldn't be here next season.

[die Mannyschaft]

As long as there is no VAR then I'm happy.

Shoukd be more goal so again more entertaining and I go to watch goals not passes or sideways football.

A lot of players will move on or get sold.

A chance to go to Wembley is another plus in Championship 

More chance to go to away games.

Easier to get tickets if no season most of the time

It would be ironic if RM stayed and got us promoted again.

Even when Saints play well we lose or bottle it in 2nd half. Need at least 14 points by end Dec or it's relegation.

[Morse]

We were lucky to get promoted last season. We've got little chance of doing it again next season while the clowns from Sport Republic are in charge. They are a far bigger threat to our club than Russel Martin.

[Football Special]

11 hours ago, die Mannyschaft said:

As long as there is no VAR then I'm happy.

Shoukd be more goal so again more entertaining and I go to watch goals not passes or sideways football.

A lot of players will move on or get sold.

A chance to go to Wembley is another plus in Championship 

More chance to go to away games.

Easier to get tickets if no season most of the time

It would be ironic if RM stayed and got us promoted again.

Even when Saints play well we lose or bottle it in 2nd half. Need at least 14 points by end Dec or it's relegation.

Agree with that , absolutely hate VAR. 

Also looking forward to getting some songs back like EIEIEIO up the football league we go, and 25 25 undefeated playing football the Southampton way. 

 

[Football Special]

11 hours ago, Morse said:

We were lucky to get promoted last season. We've got little chance of doing it again next season while the clowns from Sport Republic are in charge. They are a far bigger threat to our club than Russel Martin.

This doesn't get said enough, same as when fans were foaming at the mouth shouting abuse at Nathan Jones - it was never his fault that Sport Republic had persued him paying up his contract with Luton so they'd release him 

[badgerx16]

12 hours ago, Morse said:

We were lucky to get promoted last season.

This.

[Challenger]

12 hours ago, Morse said:

We were lucky to get promoted last season. We've got little chance of doing it again next season while the clowns from Sport Republic are in charge. They are a far bigger threat to our club than Russel Martin.

Lucky indeed and did SR grab that opportunity with both hands? Not one bit did they.

[Toussaint]

I'd do anything we have to do to stay in the premier league. We are here, and we should throw everything at it to stay here. Its possible we don't get back in a generation. There are clubs that were / are at least as big as us, if not bigger that are bumping around the championship and league one. If i was in a position of power I'd bin off SR, I'd would get rid of Martin, or at the very least get someone in above him who knows what they are doing, and he has to answer to (caveat: I think he's way to full of himself to go for that).  Ideally get New manager, someone like Moyes, give him control over all football matters, no more theory, just pragmatism, consolidate and build from there. 

Edited October 22 by Toussaint

[macca155]

First try and stay up. Only 8 games gone another 30 to go so nothing is decided as of yet. If we are relegated then so be it, another fun season. I guess keep Martin as he isn't the worst option by any means. Many attributes for a modern manager, but he is inexperienced and is being handed his arse on a plate every game so far. If the team can play as well as they have for 30 minute periods, then with the manager has to find a way of extending that play and adding more resilience at the back.

Bringing on Stewart and Smallbone was the wrong decision. No hindsight with that comment, I and the people around me said it as soon as we saw it happening. Taylor was the obvious sub and if he swallowed his pride, and had ABK available, he could have gone three at the back. Swamped Winks in midfield and cut out the supply line to Fatuwa. That is down to the manager and the coaching staff need a meeting without coffee to discuss defensive positions at corners.

As others have observed Martin needs an experienced head as Football director. Someone to act as a counterweight to the more extreme views of SR. Football isn't complicated, stop buying journeymen when you have resources already at the club.

The issues simply don't sit with just the manager, way too many poor decisions being made at a higher level.

[SNSUN]

25 minutes ago, Toussaint said:

I'd do anything we have to do to stay in the premier league. We are here, and we should through everything at it to stay here. Its possible we don't get back in a generation. There are clubs that were / are at least as big as us, if not bigger that are bumping around the championship and league one. If i was in a position of power I'd bin off SR, I'd would get rid of Martin, or at the very least get someone in above him who knows what they are doing, and he has to answer to (caveat: I think he's way to full of himself to go for that).  Ideally get New manager, someone like Moyes, give him control over all football matters, no more theory, just pragmatism, consolidate and build from there. 

This for me, while we probably will go down and, points deductions aside, it already looks like 3 from 4 at the bottom of the table will go down, we still have 30 games left to make a genuine fist of trying to stay up, Onuachu and ABK are here at least until January… use them! We have players with some quality, we shouldn’t be rolling over and accepting relegation just yet. Sack Martin and bring someone in that can organise a defence, someone that has no preconceptions about our players or favourites and just have a bash at survival. At the very least someone may shine that, if we do go down, may have their value increased that we can make some money on them. We likely won’t have Dibling, Ramsdale, THB, Fernandes, KWP, maybe Sugawara etc next season which would be gutting.

It’s only October and we’re taking about the Championship season next season - that’s too early for me, the board just need to make the right calls.

[east-stand-nic]

I wonder if 30 points will be enough to stay up this season? If so, we only need a point a game, which I have no doubt at all someone like DM, GP or BFS could achieve with this squad.

[skintsaint]

14 hours ago, Morse said:

We were lucky to get promoted last season. We've got little chance of doing it again next season while the clowns from Sport Republic are in charge. They are a far bigger threat to our club than Russel Martin.

SR bought in a very good squad for the league, we only struggled to get promoted due to RM imo.

[Miltonaggro]

2 hours ago, Toussaint said:

I'd do anything we have to do to stay in the premier league. We are here, and we should through everything at it to stay here. Its possible we don't get back in a generation. There are clubs that were / are at least as big as us, if not bigger that are bumping around the championship and league one. If i was in a position of power I'd bin off SR, I'd would get rid of Martin, or at the very least get someone in above him who knows what they are doing, and he has to answer to (caveat: I think he's way to full of himself to go for that).  Ideally get New manager, someone like Moyes, give him control over all football matters, no more theory, just pragmatism, consolidate and build from there. 

Nutshell...