Dusic

Martin Chivers? Eric Martin? Russell Osman? Martin Pahars? Aaron Martin? Bit of a bias towards Martin, which is unfortunate, and a tough decision. I'm on the fence with this one.

Which is obviously a load of absolute shite because Phil Jones can't even train, let alone play. ITK must be a low bar in this case.

If Lee Hendrie thinks its a bad appointment then its highly likely to be a good one. All IMHO of course, Morph

What do you actually want? As a PL side people bang on about experience, signing players and appointing managers who know the league etc. Well now we are a Championship team and are appointing a guy who has 2 years experience of the league, 4 years of the EFL, extensive and recent experience of playing in the PL, Championship and at Intl level and who at two different clubs has implemented a clear style of play. Probably one of relatively few managers who is 4 years into a career and yet to be sacked. If we went for Gerrard, Vieira etc they have never played or managed at this level - is that really 'ambition'? What would have made you happy? (Also, what JWP or KWP think is totally irrelevant, we need to think as a Championship club, not PL).

Its been great for Brighton and worked nicely for Burnley last season. Of course if its coached/executed badly it will fail, as will any style of play. Martin has 2 years experience in the actual league we will be in, plus another two in the EFL more broadly. He has pretty much always been operating on a low budget and with us will be one of the biggest.

But it seems like he is totally different from the previous appointments in terms of style? And he is actually experienced in the league that we will be in. Much more so than a Vieira or Gerrard type.

Presumably coinciding with when their PL parachute payments ended. Looks like they have spent about £8m on fees in the last three seasons combined. Almost all recent signings loans and free, with no signings in January despite losing players.

Assuming there is an even chsnce for every team at the start of the season then yes, thats the way to look at it. But obviously in the real world there are significant nuances such as budget, existing squad, quality of opposition etc. Not saying I am an expert in where MK Dons or Swansea were expected to finish but I doubt the expectstion for either was to win the league. Now, the fact he can point to having implemented a clear style of play with both is clearly significant and is often the sign of a good coach. If I recall correctly Pochettino was fired from Espanyol when they were in a poor position but had drawn praise for implementing a clear style, just as he didnvery quickly with us. Next season we will have one of the biggest budgets and in theory a squad of players who are better than what Swansea have. I would imagine Sport Republic think that with better players, Martin's style would be suited to achieving a higher finish. Whether that happens of course nobody knows, but to reduce a manager to simply where their team finishes in the league is a bit too simplistic.

A lot going for Martin. Ability to coach a clear style of play. Current experience of the league and all the teams and players we will be competing with. Solid and recent playing experience but also young enough to relate to todays pros. Can see why he would be of interest. Not overly fussed of league finishes because its so dependent on the quality of player you have, ability to recruit etc. He would have better at his disposal with us.

Nobody will give us anywhere near our money back for Armstrong. He has proven he can score goals at Championship level and seems like an honest pro. We may as well keep him as we don't have many players with good EFL experience. It obviously hasn't worked out but I don't think anyone can argue he doesn't give 100% so have nothing against him personally.

Assume we will be looking at Leroy Lita. Banged 16 in 18 games for Ilkeston last season. Now out of contract. Knows the league and has looked after himself well.

Luton would batter us. Definitely shows you need solid CBs who are not afraid of a physical battle and do the basics well. Not Lyanco essentially. Bednarek would actually be well suited.

On the other hand... - Our possession game the last 2 years has been a large part of our problem in creating clear chances because we are poor at building from the back in the way that Brighton for example are excellent. Their GK and CBs (in fact the whole team) are good and calm in possession and they have well coached movements to attract and beat the opposition pressure. When done well it is more than just stats and certainly not passive. Personally a manager who coaches a specific style which is then immediately obvious when watching the team clearly has something about them. Compare what Poch did in 3 days to Jones in 6 weeks. Talk of spreadsheet managers and messing about at the back etc is often, and in the case of your post, lazy cliche.

Not sure it was anywhere near that certain. Seemed more of a case of him recognising that moving again may not be ideal so he may not push to leave like some will. If he were to get an offer from a PL side on PL wages he is hardly going to say no, same as all the squad.

1. Lambert equaliser at City in 2012...great moment. 2. Win at Chelsea under Koeman when Davis, Mane and Pelle scored. That day our front three (Tadic, Mane and Pelle) absolutely killed Chelsea. 3. 3-2 win versus Spurs last season. Hasenhuttl performance at its best, first half we were unplayable (aside from the final action, as usual). Even in the last few years we did have occasional moments where we looked a proper team.

Wonder if MLT and Lambert fancy a jab at taking us back up? Imagine the data-science led recruitment policy wouldn't be to their liking but otherwise a good chance for them to unmask the clubs potential.

And, as proven with Jones, surely we want someone who has shown they can be successful at more than one club? We will be a big fish at Championship level, at least for a season or two. No time for experiments.

Did you root for Ralph Krueger, find yourself charmed by Lee Hoos or really value the work of Toby Steele? Can be Chairman, CEO, CFO or even a Commercial Director if thats your thing.

Tella will clearly end up going and we will be well compensated. That said, if we lose him and Adams then we will also be in a position where we have barely anyone with any EFL experience (Baz, Bree, Armstrong and Smallbone the only ones I can think of). Its a different style and is relentless with lots of midweek games. Tella has adapted to that and Adams is generally a robust player and would score a lot of goals next season. Someone like Stu Armstrong won't be much use as won't start enough games. We will clearly lose our better players and probably some of the hangers on. The key, as ever, is going to be our recruitment as we will be bring in at least 10 players again.

This is a very difficult question to answer. I am certain I have missed viable candidates but surely shouts for these: Villa away under Ralph Newcastle home under Ralph Lincoln home under Jones Brighton home under Jones Forest home under Jones Brentford away under Jones West Ham away under Selles Some absolute dross in these. I think Brighton at home wins for me because of the amount of prep time and semi-expectation that we might have developed something in the 6 weeks training only for there to be no dicernable plan.

He has increased the standard and level of competition in training which has pushed on the likes of Elyounoussi and Adam Armstrong to new heights. Fair play to them for keeping him out.

Ron told me that supposedly JWP was in Newcastle last weekend sorting it. Keep it to yourself though mate.

Bumped into Terry at the weekend and he told me that Dale had mentioned to you the snippet he heard from Neil at the laundrette. Time will tell but Bryn told me Neil is usually spot on and Gary at the lodge can vouch for him as well. Love to the family, Colin.

I worry because there is just so much to do within a couple of months and if we don't make a good start then it will get worse rather than better. We currently have no Manager, Head of Recruitment or Academy Director so not ideal in terms of planning. We will lose a lot of players but perhaps not early enough to use the cash to get in players we want. Highly likely we will have players in pre season who know they won't be there in August and whose attitudes might not be the best. We will have players who we think will stay who are probably unhappy and will want to leave or feel they have done enough to stay in the PL (potentially the likes of Livramento, Alcaraz). We probably have top Academy players who will be being pressured to leave. We will likely have very few players with either a.) Championship experience b.) Proven PL ability c.) A goal record at any level. In key positions, especially CB and CM we may be left with pretty much no senior players, certainly in midfield where its possible that all.of JWP, Lavia, AMN and Diallo leave. Is it realistic to sign a whole new CM group who are one of the best in the league and have them ready to go for the first game? IMO unlikely. The usual advantage relegated PL teams have is that a few players who stay are clearly top level Champ players, I am not sure I can see many to whom that will apply - possibly Bazunu (if he regains confidence and stays), Livramento (if fit and stays) and Sulemana (if he finds some end product and stays). As soon as we are confirmed as relegated hopefully they will get on with making key appointments.

Good interview with him on The Athletic this morning. Played 45 games for Stoke and third in their fans POTS vote. Biggest thing...he really wants to play for Saints no matter what division. We won't have too many of those in the current squad so hopefully he has a key role.