Nordic Saint

But, it's also worth noting how badly teams that have been relegated cut adrift in last place like we are now have fared. Only Aston Villa have really come back since. 8 Lowest Points Totals in Premier League History1. Derby – 11 (2007/08)2. Sunderland – 15 (2005/06)3. Huddersfield – 16 (2018/19)4. Aston Villa – 17 (2015/16)5. Sunderland – 19 (2002/03)6. Portsmouth – 19 (2009/10)7. Norwich – 21 (2019/20)8. Watford – 24 (1990/00) The teams that finish 18th usually bounce back first.

Nathan Jones gets credit for promotions achieved by other managers with better records at Luton, Mick Harford who got them promoted from League One when Nathan Jones was taking Stoke to the bottom of the Championship, and Rob Edwards who got them promoted from the Championship when Nathan Jones was taking Saints to the bottom of the Premier League.If Nathan Jones had stayed at Luton, they wouldn't have achieved either promotion.At least Luton fans appreciate the favour we did them by taking him away:Posted by True fan on 27/5/2023, 21:08:19Biggest of thanks to.....Southampton for taking nathan jones when they did.We should learn from that. It's worth noting how much more successful other managers were at the clubs Russell Martin has managed. Paul Tisdale got MK Dons promoted from League Two, Russell Martin only took them to 19th and 13th. Then Liam Manning took them to 3rd in League One. At Swansea, Steve Cooper took Swansea to 4th with a 44.76% win rate. Then Russell Martin took them down to 15th (Swansea's worst finish in the 2nd tier since 1984) and 10th with a 35.53 % win rate. It's only a late run this season that gives Russell Martin's poor managerial record even the merest veneer of respectability.

In 2019-20 Swansea finished 6th and in 2020-21 they finished 4th, so they weren't exactly struggling before Russell Martin arrived and took them to 15th and 10th. 15th was Swansea's worst finish in the 2nd tier since they were relegated in 1984. No wonder their fans weren't happy.

That's pretty much how we felt about Nathan Jones. Anyway, it looks like we may have done Swansea a favour, taking him off your hands like we did Luton when we took Jones. They didn't find it hard to get a better manager, Rob Edwards, who tansformed their season. Perhaps your new manager will do the same for you.

Just over 2 months ago, when Swansea were 17th and sliding towards relegation, having won only 1 of their last 11 games, it was rumoured their owners wanted to replace him and their fans certainly did but then an impressive unbetaten run took them up to 10th and saved him... for us. Just over 2 months ago: Forum | Russell Martin : ‘ I really like our mentality’ But Russ this is relegation by SwansIndependent | Swansea Independent (fansnetwork.co.uk)

Well Swansea fans certainly don't seem too keen on him: "When he goes, we will see a putrid goalkeeper replaced, the end of suicide defence passing and players being respected and nurtured playing in their best positions. It might see us enjoying watching us again."

Surely, even a Russell Martin apologist like you must realize this is bullsh!t. Only 3 teams in the Championship conceded more goals than Swansea this season, and they were all relegated. In 2020-21, his only full season at MK Dons, they conceded 62 goals. Even Saints U21 team beat them: 2020–21 Milton Keynes Dons F.C. season - Wikipedia In 2021-22, his Swansea team conceded 68 goals: 2021–22 Swansea City A.F.C. season - Wikipedia And this season, his Swansea team have conceded 64 goals With our goalkeepers and defenders, his passing around at the back isn't going to work any better, is it? In fact it looks like a surefire recipe for disaster.

He's not just garbage: to add insult to injury he's expensive garbage, costing £80,000 per week. Will we ever get rid of him? I dread seeing him appearing in goal for us again next season.

McCarthy is the worst goalkeeper in the league. He'll be the worst in the Championship next season too as we're going to be stuck with him, aren't we? Absolutely no chance of promotion with him in goal.

If you aspire to excellence, don't embrace mediocrity.

If that is downwards, yes. The average league position of Russell Martin's teams in his managerial career in League One and the Championship is 14th and no team of his has ever got past the 3rd round of the FA Cup, although his MK Dons team did win a penalty shootout after a 0-0 draw with Eastleigh in the 1st round. His appointment would signal just how low the club's ambitions are now.

Good Manager vs Bad Manager The passing around at the back left Swansea with the 4th worst defensive record in the Championship this season. The other 3 teams were relegated.

Well if it is him and let's hope it isn't, it looks like they may have found someone even worse than Nathan Jones. Martin's managerial career absolutely reeks of mediocrity. He took MK Dons to 19th and 13th in League One. He then took Swansea to 15th and 10th. His teams have a terrible defensive record as they keep getting caught out passing the ball around at the back. His win rate is a mediocre 36%.

Adam Armstrong. If there was any doubt, his sub appearance today clinched it. He made Elyounoussi look good in comparison.

Spot on. We need a proper goalkeeper for next season - an experienced one who can actually save shots - and we need to get rid of McCarthy for good. No other club will take him so it would be better to terminate his contract rather than having the ever present danger of him costing us more points.

At £80,000 per week, McCarthy is just more expensive shit. In fact, when Ward-Prowse leaves, he'll be the most expensive shit at the club. What makes it worse is that some random fan from the crowd, who'd play for nothing, would probably save more shots than he does.

Leicester U23s must be really desperate if they let Vestergaard play 11 minutes for them. Surely they could have got someone better from the crowd, even if it was only 2 men and a dog.

And Bazunu only faced 2 shots when we played Palace. He let them both in. That's the difference. That was Fraser Forster's 206th clean sheet.

Another clean sheet for Fraser Forster today.

Great news.

We've had some managers who were poor at substitutions but Selles takes the biscuit. Almost every one of his substitutions makes you groan, "Oh no! What on earth is he doing now?"

From a player's point of view, we pay high wages to players who aren't very good, like Alex McCarthy, and look after them for years so that they can retire happily with millions in the bank. The downside is that if a player is any good, we sell him as soon as possible. So, the lesson is that if you're a cr@p footballer, Southampton is the club for you.

Kelvin Davis had a pretty abysmal record at Sunderland. They voted him into their All-time Worst Sunderland XI. With him in goal, they finished bottom of the Premier League, with a grand total of 15 points and a goal difference of -43. In comparison, that makes even Saints' current season look good.

He understood the importance of having an experienced goalkeeper too. He brought in the 33-year-old Peter Shilton, who probably was worth an extra 20 points a season.

Little Girona, a club that's spent nearly all of its history in the lower leagues, is currently having the best season in its history. This month, with Gazzaniga in goal and Romeu in midfield, they've drawn away to Barcelona and beaten Real Madrid at home. Why? Well the appointment of Míchel as their manager seems to have had a lot to do with it. He's been something of a promotion specialist, getting 3 teams, Rayo Vallecano, Huesca and last season, Girona, promoted to La Liga. But now he's proving he can compete at the highest level against the likes of Ancelotti and Xavi, with far more limited resources. The biggest fee they spent was £5 mill for Romeu. Most of their players have been brought in on free transfers or loans or for next to nothing, including their striker Castellanos, who just scored 4 goals against Real Madrid. Míchel is still only 47 and is obviously one to consider if we want a manager to get us promoted next season. Girona FC - Transfers 22/23 | Transfermarkt