Who do we want next as Saints manager?

[Lord Duckhunter]

1 hour ago, Dusic said:

Just to check do you mean local lad Will Smallbone who was very good last season 

Fuck me, there’s another one. The one I saw was bang fucking average last season. 

[Midfield_General]

2 hours ago, CB Fry said:

I think we should recruit Tony Mowbray because he was WBA manager and Chelsea won the FA Cup and the Champions League after they appointed a former WBA manager.

Is that how it works?

Ah, Tony Mowbray. 

There’s a man who single-handedly showed Martin’s ‘philosophy’ for the meaningless propaganda it was. I’ll always remember our game against his Sunderland side in the championship. 

Possession stats: Sunderland 32%, Saints 68%. 

Final score: Sunderland 5, Saints 0. 

[Holmes_and_Watson]

3 minutes ago, Midfield_General said:

Ah, Tony Mowbray. 

There’s a man who single-handedly showed Martin’s ‘philosophy’ for the meaningless propaganda it was. I’ll always remember our game against his Sunderland side in the championship. 

Possession stats: Sunderland 32%, Saints 68%. 

Final score: Sunderland 5, Saints 0. 

Mowbray took Martin's tactics apart. Absolutely schooled him. I was worried that others would do just the same.

Instead, we went on a record unbeaten run not long after.

[manji]

2 hours ago, Convict Colony said:

Hes interesting as a candidate but does Ligue  1 experience make him relatable to what we need in the championship, that's the unknown.

I'd be inclined to agree that a club looking to outperform from mid table might suit, I'd also be interested to know why he didn't get the Sunderland gig.

I wasn’t saying he should get the job. I just find him an interesting manager and didn’t even know he was in contention. It’s going to be fucking difficult job. It’s stabilising us getting us out of the Championship and I’ve heard Solak wasn’t happy with the fact we didn’t make the Autos so yep not really the time for a left field manager but Spors is also looking long term. Getting a safety manager to get as promoted and the ditching him doesn’t fit either. This season was not our worst season but it fucking felt like it. 

I’ve been damaged by it that’s how much I give a shit. The Sports Republic out campaign was dumb . They have to stay but they have to sort it 

Spors was a great move but a serious decision has to be made. No fuck ups we’ve still got money. Why shouldn’t we get autos ? We don’t know what our squad will be like or who our manager is. I reckon Spors has. 
No idea who our next manager and I wouldn’t try to suggest someone. The fans won’t be happy whoever joins. Just one thought though no Sean Dyche that would be madness . Big Ange don’t know Rohl don’t Know Philippe Clement, Stanimir Stoilov ? 

[Convict Colony]

5 minutes ago, manji said:

No idea who our next manager and I wouldn’t try to suggest someone. The fans won’t be happy whoever joins. Just one thought though no Sean Dyche that would be madness . Big Ange don’t know Rohl don’t Know Philippe Clement, Stanimir Stoilov ? 

You forget the power of stockholm syndrome amigo 😁

[Turkish]

On 20/04/2025 at 18:50, Forester said:

Agree that “fuck all” is far from fair.  He did an outstanding job taking them to safety last season, after appearing dead and buried.

 

However, it must surely be a concern to you, and all of us, that since January his team is literally BOTTOM of the championship form guide.  There is not a single team producing worse results in the division that we are playing in next season than his side over the last three months.

 

As has been documented, he has been operating in tough circumstances and delays in player wages.  But the collapse in form, since being linked with us, is a worry.

Sounds very Hassenhuttl like, runs of brilliant form followed by runs of terrible form. I wonder if less than 1% of the fan base would want Rohl in at the moment too?

[Turkish]

A lot of boxes ticked by Eric Roy, Edin Terzic & Imanol Alguacil. They play the perfect style for us which is attacking high press/low block with deep lying attacking pivots/possession based philosophy (deleted as required) they're foreign and have that all important quality of most people have never heard of them make me sound really clever and hispter. Go get them Mr Spors!

[CB Fry]

6 minutes ago, Turkish said:

Imanol Alguacil

I think I’ve got a tube of that in my Bathroom Cabinet. 

[SWLondon Saint]

42 minutes ago, Turkish said:

A lot of boxes ticked by Eric Roy, Edin Terzic & Imanol Alguacil. They play the perfect style for us which is attacking high press/low block with deep lying attacking pivots/possession based philosophy (deleted as required) they're foreign and have that all important quality of most people have never heard of them make me sound really clever and hispter. Go get them Mr Spors!

I mean, if he can get someone who managed a team to the CL final last year to come to the Championship we need to check his office for mind control drugs or blackmail materials 😂

[Saint86]

3 hours ago, goodymatt said:

Leicester expected to replace RvN this summer, shortlist appears to be Lee Carsley, Danny Rohl and Russell Martin.

Would Rohl choose us?

Carsley not mentioned for us to date, is he a viable option?

I wouldn’t like to see Russ battling against us for promotion next season but it would be a good option for him to get back into management.

Leicester's rolling 3year loss is in excess of £200M... even if they hadn't been relegated they'd have had an allowable loss of £105M - i'm not sure what the year in the champ reduces that down to. I know they get away with cheating, but surely they're in for a points deduction on arrival? On top of that, if Vardy is still there he'll be 38next season, and they've tied a load of older "past it" players on to long contracts (they gave vestergard a 3 year deal aged 32 ffs). I think they're actually in trouble, especially if they finally get done for cheating.

[macca155]

Leicester have had almost as grim a record of appointing managers as we have.

I almost feel sorry for them if they appoint Martin. Personally I wouldn't be disappointed to see them appoint Rohl. His record is looking grimmer every week.

Which leaves Saints further up the creek.

[Badger]

1 minute ago, macca155 said:

Leicester have had almost as grim a record of appointing managers as we have.

I almost feel sorry for them if they appoint Martin. Personally I wouldn't be disappointed to see them appoint Rohl. His record is looking grimmer every week.

Which leaves Saints further up the creek.

he's unbeaten in one, and has a 100% record in that time.

Interpretation on statistics can be misleading. Someone tell Rasmus. 

[2Morrow]

Not looking good for Leicester and PSR / EFL finance rules 

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2025/04/20/leicester-city-relegated-doomed-season-inside-story/

 

 

[Gloucester Saint]

4 hours ago, Dusic said:

Just to check do you mean local lad Will Smallbone who was very good last season in a Saints team that got promoted at Wembley - getting the assist for the winning goal in the playoff final, added to a vitally important goal in the semi final as well?

He’s a good to very good Championship player as the most advanced as a central midfield three.

But he can’t play in a two for toffee in any division as Stoke found, and then Saints found last season and this when Downes was out and Martin didn’t fancy Shea Charles. 

[Willo of Whiteley]

They’ll be people on here and fans out there that were delighted to see Russell Martin sacked, equally those same people will be annoyed that he’s being linked with Leicester or if he ended up at a potential promotion rival. 😂

 

[Willo of Whiteley]

8 minutes ago, 2Morrow said:

Not looking good for Leicester and PSR / EFL finance rules 

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2025/04/20/leicester-city-relegated-doomed-season-inside-story/

 

 

Not paying for the article but I’m getting the host that they might have financial problems? Couldn’t have happened to a bigger set of fans that now have a self entitlement of being a top six team. 😂

I’m sure they’ll be promoted either way next season.

[Lighthouse]

34 minutes ago, Gloucester Saint said:

He’s a good to very good Championship player as the most advanced as a central midfield three.

But he can’t play in a two for toffee in any division as Stoke found, and then Saints found last season and this when Downes was out and Martin didn’t fancy Shea Charles. 

To me that just says he isn't that great. Like when people said Shane Long was good running around alongside Danny Ings and 'his job wasn't to score goals'.

[Badger]

39 minutes ago, Willo of Whiteley said:

They’ll be people on here and fans out there that were delighted to see Russell Martin sacked, equally those same people will be annoyed that he’s being linked with Leicester or if he ended up at a potential promotion rival. 😂

 

If we get our own appointment right we've no need to worry where Martin ends up.

Now what part of that represents a challenge and possible flaw in my thinking ?

[gallaghert366@yahoo.com]

41 minutes ago, Willo of Whiteley said:

They’ll be people on here and fans out there that were delighted to see Russell Martin sacked, equally those same people will be annoyed that he’s being linked with Leicester or if he ended up at a potential promotion rival. 😂

 

Promotion rival    -  are you serious?

Unless there are some worthwhile signings, given the few quality players in situ will be elsewhere, the residue (dross) will emulate Luton!

[Miltonaggro]

2 hours ago, CB Fry said:

I think I’ve got a tube of that in my Bathroom Cabinet. 

Imanol Alguacil, for when you need to tackle that problematic automatic spot. 

[Dusic]

53 minutes ago, Gloucester Saint said:

He’s a good to very good Championship player as the most advanced as a central midfield three.

But he can’t play in a two for toffee in any division as Stoke found, and then Saints found last season and this when Downes was out and Martin didn’t fancy Shea Charles. 

Fair summary. Why people seem to slag him off is beyond me. Easily good enough to be part of a good team next season and would be very low on my list of players to actively try to get rid of.

[Gloucester Saint]

54 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

To me that just says he isn't that great. Like when people said Shane Long was good running around alongside Danny Ings and 'his job wasn't to score goals'.

He has strengths and weaknesses like most players but because either the club hasn’t really invested in his physique or Will hasn’t followed advice to do so those are a bit more in focus than usual.

What we can all see this season and last is that he can’t function in a central two which ties the new manager into using a formation which works with Will’s strengths or move him on for a low fee with 12 months left on his contract.

Oakley and JWP were like this for their first few years but it needed WGS and Ralph respectively to give them a kick up the arse to get stronger, in Matt’s case eat breakfast and properly overall, and JWP to toughen up and compete properly, by leaving him out of the 18 initially. But there may be physical/mental reasons why that might not work with Will.

Personally, if Martin pitches up at Norwich, that’s probably the solution. He can play at the top of a diamond, score 8-10 goals, create, and let the two bigger stronger lads behind him do the dirty work. If Saints want to finish top two, then that creative player needs to be more the 12-15 goal and dozen assists output. But that player will break the Wolves £15m Championship fee.

Also, if Spors does want a pressing focussed manager, as hinted on here, then that’s not Will’s forte.

Summary: good player if you use Will to his strengths but he needs to deliver a double figure goal return and more of what released AA at Wembley if others are doing the heavy lifting centrally.

Edited Tuesday at 17:53 by Gloucester Saint

[ApprenticeBillionaire]

1 hour ago, Willo of Whiteley said:

They’ll be people on here and fans out there that were delighted to see Russell Martin sacked, equally those same people will be annoyed that he’s being linked with Leicester or if he ended up at a potential promotion rival. 😂

 

Unless he goes there and is winning every game 3-0 those fans are fucking arseholes.

Ranieri delivered them a PL title and they were on his back by the end.

They're right up there with Everton and Spurs fans in the "complete fucking arseholes" League.

[macca155]

4 hours ago, Badger said:

he's unbeaten in one, and has a 100% record in that time.

Interpretation on statistics can be misleading. Someone tell Rasmus. 

Good point

In fairness he's managing in a pretty desperate situation up there. Bit harsh to judge him on that.

Nathan Jones has won 10 drawn 2 and lost 1 in his last 13 matches. Now on the verge of the autos, and his team just dicked Wrexham ( in his plus column). Would we want him back?

Nb Wycombe not Wrexham thank MLG

Edited Tuesday at 20:19 by macca155

[Matthew Le God]

3 minutes ago, macca155 said:

Nathan Jones has won 10 drawn 2 and lost 1 in his last 13 matches. Now on the verge of the autos, and his team just dicked Wrexham ( in his plus column). Would we want him back?

Wycombe 

[BarberSaint]

I've decided the last ginger manager we had was great.

[2Morrow]

1 hour ago, Willo of Whiteley said:

Not paying for the article but I’m getting the host that they might have financial problems? Couldn’t have happened to a bigger set of fans that now have a self entitlement of being a top six team. 😂

I’m sure they’ll be promoted either way next season.

'Leicester have also faced issues off the field. The threat of breaching PSR has hung over the club like a dark cloud. The Premier League is still in arbitration over their legal dispute.

 

The EFL is also expected to closely examine Leicester after taking action for the club exceeding the upper loss threshold in their PSR calculations relating to the 2023-24 promotion season.

 

Leicester were placed under a transfer embargo because of concerns over their projected accounts for that season, and the EFL is considering its next move."

[Whitey Grandad]

10 hours ago, Convict Colony said:

Listen guys if you cant see Zidane in Rusk then there is no hope for you.

 

I’m just waiting for the head butt for confirmation.

[Chez]

2 hours ago, Gloucester Saint said:

He’s a good to very good Championship player as the most advanced as a central midfield three.

But he can’t play in a two for toffee in any division as Stoke found, and then Saints found last season and this when Downes was out and Martin didn’t fancy Shea Charles. 

he cant play in the most advanced role imo. he doesn't offer anything much there. he played well sat next to Downes, playing in a three man midfield, collecting and distributing the ball and pushing on now and then. he passes the ball well. touch is ok. that's it. he's perfect for Martin's approach. in fact we struggled sometimes without him, beyond that though, meh.

[Gloucester Saint]

4 minutes ago, Chez said:

he cant play in the most advanced role imo. he doesn't offer anything much there. he played well sat next to Downes, playing in a three man midfield, collecting and distributing the ball and pushing on now and then. he passes the ball well. touch is ok. that's it. he's perfect for Martin's approach. in fact we struggled sometimes without him, beyond that though, meh.

Scored some good goals and made good through balls, but I agree that he isn’t going to go past anyone with a burst of pace or a trick to take defenders away. 

[macca155]

2 hours ago, Matthew Le God said:

Wycombe 

Ha silly mistake. It's Wrexham next for them.

Hell of a run they're on though

[Saint86]

2 hours ago, 2Morrow said:

'Leicester have also faced issues off the field. The threat of breaching PSR has hung over the club like a dark cloud. The Premier League is still in arbitration over their legal dispute.

 

The EFL is also expected to closely examine Leicester after taking action for the club exceeding the upper loss threshold in their PSR calculations relating to the 2023-24 promotion season.

 

Leicester were placed under a transfer embargo because of concerns over their projected accounts for that season, and the EFL is considering its next move."

 

In addition to these figures, they've also just posted a £19.4M loss for last season (2023-24), which means the latest rolling 3 year loss is £201.6M.

If they don't get some kind of sanction this season or next season PSR is dead in the water. The joke of it is we ripped the squad totally apart to raise money and make a £5M profit last season.

Edited Tuesday at 20:26 by Saint86

[Midfield_General]

3 hours ago, Gloucester Saint said:

He has strengths and weaknesses like most players but because either the club hasn’t really invested in his physique or Will hasn’t followed advice to do so those are a bit more in focus than usual.

So you’re saying that his weakness is that he has no strength

[austsaint]

3 hours ago, Midfield_General said:

So you’re saying that his weakness is that he has no strength

I’m really doubting the idea that if Will S. beefed up and increased his muscle mass he’d be a better player. His limitations far exceed his attributes. I see someone who has a good first touch and is a technically good passer or recycler, particularly when not under any pressure.  He would look impressive on the training pitch.   It’s what made him so well suited to Martin’s game.  Clearly though he can’t handle a two man partnership in CM and he isn’t good enough to play as an attacking midfielder.  His good games and moments in the Championship for us were very well spaced - there were many mediocre, anonymous games where he was content to knock it round at the back as the possession stats were racked up.

I think he should be moved on.   The baseline for next seasons CM should include players like Charles, Downes and Ugochukwu, with a Fernandes type able to slot in when needed.   Similarly, if Spors has ambitions of automatic promotion he needs better attacking midfielders than WS.    

[St. Ciervo]

8 hours ago, Willo of Whiteley said:

They’ll be people on here and fans out there that were delighted to see Russell Martin sacked, equally those same people will be annoyed that he’s being linked with Leicester or if he ended up at a potential promotion rival. 😂

 

Annoyed? My God, what a dream that would be. Fingers crossed, Willo. 

A press will get us 2 goals at least, and they'll effectively neuter Vardy or whomever is playing up front with no service. Yes please!

[Dman]

5 hours ago, St. Ciervo said:

Annoyed? My God, what a dream that would be. Fingers crossed, Willo. 

A press will get us 2 goals at least, and they'll effectively neuter Vardy or whomever is playing up front with no service. Yes please!

Agreed - Leeds aside, we come unstuck any time we played a half competent side. 

[StrangelyBrown]

18 hours ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

Fuck me, there’s another one. The one I saw was bang fucking average last season. 

You are being kind. I seem to remember Smallbone getting pelters for being lightweight, poor at tracking back and only passing sideways for at least half the season.

[ally_uk]

Have we actually interviewed candidates yet? 

[Saint86]

2 hours ago, Dman said:

Agreed - Leeds aside, we come unstuck any time we played a half competent side. 

Martin played good football badly. He will likely develop though, and he may prove ultimately to be a top level manager. Time will tell whether we'll ultimately regret binning him off. He was not keeping us in the premier league however, and the decision to sack him when we did, with no clear plan in place was a poor one. Either we should have done it far far far sooner, or we should have committed to him knowing we'd be in the champ anyway. What we actually did was just an almighty mess.

Edited Wednesday at 09:03 by Saint86

[gurru991]

17 hours ago, Saint86 said:

Leicester's rolling 3year loss is in excess of £200M... even if they hadn't been relegated they'd have had an allowable loss of £105M - i'm not sure what the year in the champ reduces that down to. I know they get away with cheating, but surely they're in for a points deduction on arrival? On top of that, if Vardy is still there he'll be 38next season, and they've tied a load of older "past it" players on to long contracts (they gave vestergard a 3 year deal aged 32 ffs). I think they're actually in trouble, especially if they finally get done for cheating.

My understanding is that the EFL will charge Leicester for past infractions & there is a strong possibility of a points deduction.

The club has been a a mess for a few years now & Maresca getting us promoted was just papering over the cracks. 

[goodymatt]

17 minutes ago, gurru991 said:

My understanding is that the EFL will charge Leicester for past infractions & there is a strong possibility of a points deduction.

The club has been a a mess for a few years now & Maresca getting us promoted was just papering over the cracks. 

We both got promoted last time we were both in a mess. Expect us both to be playoffs minimum next season regardless of manager selection and points deductions. The gap is big in the PL but Luton aside the gap against the other champ teams is just as big. Look at the points totals for the top 3 again this year.

[Holmes_and_Watson]

24 minutes ago, gurru991 said:

My understanding is that the EFL will charge Leicester for past infractions & there is a strong possibility of a points deduction.

The club has been a a mess for a few years now & Maresca getting us promoted was just papering over the cracks. 

Perhaps Leicester could take along Vestergaard videos to any hearing, and get the points deduction reduced, as some punishments clearly already in place. 🙂

[miserableoldgit]

58 minutes ago, Saint86 said:

Martin played good football badly. He will likely develop though, and he may prove ultimately to be a top level manager. Time will tell whether we'll ultimately regret binning him off. He was not keeping us in the premier league however, and the decision to sack him when we did, with no clear plan in place was a poor one. Either we should have done it far far far sooner, or we should have committed to him knowing we'd be in the champ anyway. What we actually did was just an almighty mess.

We definitely should have got rid of him sooner. Should have given him 10 games but been better prepared witha replacement.....

[Colinjb]

1 hour ago, Saint86 said:

Martin played good football badly. He will likely develop though, and he may prove ultimately to be a top level manager. Time will tell whether we'll ultimately regret binning him off. He was not keeping us in the premier league however, and the decision to sack him when we did, with no clear plan in place was a poor one. Either we should have done it far far far sooner, or we should have committed to him knowing we'd be in the champ anyway. What we actually did was just an almighty mess.

He wouldn't change if we kept him, he would have seen it as further validation.

He had to be sacked to be given a learning point and a chance to grow. We shall soon see if he is capable of that.

[leesaint88]

1 hour ago, gurru991 said:

My understanding is that the EFL will charge Leicester for past infractions & there is a strong possibility of a points deduction.

The club has been a a mess for a few years now & Maresca getting us promoted was just papering over the cracks. 

I can only assume that's why RvN might stay? Financially it makes sense?

[Saint NL]

Leeds are sacking Farke immediately after getting promoted. That's what we should have done with Martin.

 

Bold decision from the Leeds board.

[Saint_clark]

See Downes is in the press blowing smoke up Rusk and Lallanas arses. Last thing we want is another best mates, lads on tour dynamic. 

[skintsaint]

17 minutes ago, Saint NL said:

Leeds are sacking Farke

Was about to post this, would take him here on a short contract.

Edited Wednesday at 12:01 by skintsaint

[Midfield_General]

12 minutes ago, skintsaint said:

Was about to post this, would take him here on a short contract.

We should hire him, let him get us promoted, then immediately sack him too, just for a laugh

[Sheaf Saint]

52 minutes ago, Saint NL said:

Leeds are sacking Farke immediately after getting promoted.

And hiring Russell Martin after he somehow managed to beat them 3 times last season.

Edited Wednesday at 12:37 by Sheaf Saint