Dusic

Will be an interesting summer, keep the crackpot conspiracies coming and maybe one of them will stick. All IMHO of course, Morph

I think so yes. The club know there are 4 or 5 players who can be sold for good fees without question so there shouldnt be a doubt about what can be raised. It will be important to get a good start, especially to get the fans behind Martin, and in some positions (central midfield especially) we will be massively short. Will be important to have a few leaders in for pre season too as minus a couple of the experienced guys this is still such a tame group. Imagine some stuff will happen pretty quickly though, its so obvious the likes of Lavia, JWP, KWP, Salisu, Adams etc will be going and teams have had ages to know we are going down and to sort deals out with those players. Assuming we are realistic on prices then most of these can be done before pre season, which is better for everyone.

Essentially all four of our CM options will leave (Lavia, JWP, Diallo, AMN) so I would say its the key position for recruitment as even with Smallbone back will need to sign 3 before the start of the season. Don't think there are any genuine academy prospects in the #6 type position either so recruitment here will be massive.

Perhaps if we had played in a consistently well-coached style we might have won more games. No coincidence that our best spells under Ralph were when you could pretty much name 10 of the 11 starters and the formation. Under Jones and Selles there has been no obvious plan. Good coaching and a clear gameplan will get the most out of a set of players and we have lacked that since Ralph lost confidence in his style.

Always helps having a goalscorer but you also have to create chances which all the stats show Swansea did. The angle of attack about lots of possession with no intent seems pretty lazy considering they were a good attacking team last season and the stats back that up. We played the rubbush stuff this season at the back because our defenders are absolutely clueless in possession and probably not well coached on it and there was little movement further forward. Having a coach prioritise in possession patterns will surely help that rather than lead to more of the same.

They were the 4th top scorers in the league this season, so looks like there was some intent. Not that facts will change your view. Martin also has 2 years current experience in the actual league that we are going to be playing in. As well as significant recent experience of playing and being promoted from it. I would say thats enough knowledge of the league.

Duncan Holley Tadanari (Chung) Lee

Don't disagree with some of that but was making the point for the few here who have for some reason decided that the possession is all in the defensive third and is pointless. Swansea scored the joint 4th amount of goals so clearly it achieves something from an attacking perspective. I think there are some (not you btw) who don't really understand what some of the different styles of play actually are and just get fixated on the fact that sometimes defenders pass the ball to each other instead of launching it. In our game with Brighton, Dunk and Colwill played more passes than our entire back four and midfield combined but it didnt mean they were some kind of pathetic attacking force. And there are still some that will insist Saints have been trying to play a possession based style under Selles, which is just ridiculous.

Swansea's attacking numbers have been very good (joint 4th most goals scored) so clearly shows a purpose to the possession. Its been the defensive side that stopped them comfortably finshing in the playoffs.

Whilst he was only playing at National League level, Nico Lawrence did very well at Torquay and won their Young Player of the Year. Not saying he will come back and be a starter but will be interesting to see whether he gets a chance in pre season. He is very good on the ball which will presumably appeal for RM. Otherwise agree that I don't see any of the loanees making an impact aside from Tella (if somehow he stays) and Smallbone.

Some of this is interesting and an insight into what he was dealing with in January. Reminded me a bit of the Maddison situation that Les Reed recently described where we almost had Maddison but had to waste time getting an approval from China. Obviously he kind of toes the line of really slagging the owners off but it did much on either side to strengthen the relationships. IMO he comes across as a collaborative person who clearly cares about his staff and players - and also who is quite open and chatty which fans usually prefer.

We literally haven't. We have been a pressing team that is more concerned with what we do off the ball than on it. Of course every team will pass the ball between defenders during a game, thats just normal. But in no way have Saints been a possession based team since day one of Ralph to now. Frankly anyone who thinks we have been playing or even trying to play a possession based style is clueless.

Well I would say it depends almost entirely on whether the CEO they hire to replace Semmens is competent, so hard to judge. But at least they are making decisions and making them quickly.

Clearly a massive summer of change with almost all senior staff leaving. Certainly good to see this happen early on, and we juat have to hope the people they bring in are highly competent, e.g the ex CFG guy who will be an independent director. The fact they are replacing Semmens as CEO rather than one of HK or RA taking that role is also positive I think. My main concern is that there isn't really anyone of any seniority on the football side or academy who will remain, and surely some specific expertise/knowledge about Saints specifically will be lost. That said, Jason Wilcox is a very good appointment IMO and that makes me confident as no chance he would have left City after building a great reputation if he didn't believe in SR's plans. Darren Mowbray also seems a pragmatic, sensible choice rather than a trying to be too clever pick.

Strange situation assuming Martin gets appointed this week. No value in him taking the Liverpool game as half the players won't be there, irrelevant game and high chanxe of a tonking. But surely hard to expect Selles to do it either, especially if the club hasnt been overly communicative to him. Could see Dave Horseman taking it.

Jim Joyce - slowest physio the PL has ever seen.

I have seen a lot of comments on here that appointing Martin is "risky" and "making the same mistake again" post Jones. Out of interest: 1. Who are the realistic managers that people wouldn't see as "risky" and think would "unite the fans"? 2. Why is Martin seen as in any way similar to Jones? Style of play couldn't be more different (and is closely aligned to Wilcox which is surely a big positive, clearly he would have had a significant role in the appointment) whilst he also has recent experience of both playing and managing in the Championship so is a known quantity at that level whereas PL was obviously a step up for Jones. Seems a very lazy comparison.

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.