Miltonaggro

Well there you go. Timid was never going to cut it.

Yes, think that was the preferred bolthole. I was in there once on a school night and Hurlock, Adams, Horne, and Dowie were really tying one on, Dowie struggling a bit to keep up. He exited the upstairs toilet as I passed him, tripped and went down the staircase headfirst. Happy more gentle times when the players were fully embedded in the community.

I've got a feeling that Martin's main plan after promotion was simply to avoid defeats at all costs and snatch the odd point to try to build confidence - his, as much as the team. Fair enough, it's a learning curve for him and that situation and risk is squarely on the board. This has, however, made us horrible to watch, and even when we've looked OK for 20 minutes you sense the coming implosion. So, no wonder Saints fans are not enjoying it at the moment. At this point, newly promoted, perhaps the best we could have hoped for was to be competitive in every match, we simply have to go for it - get fitter, develop a mean streak, and fight for everything, even if loses possession. Essentially, the polar opposite of what we are doing currently. Saints fans love a side that fights, and if this team can find theirs we still have time to turn things around and enjoy our return to this league. Ball, Hoddle, Strachan, Pochettino and Koeman should provide the model to punch above our current (fly)weight and start pissing off the likes of Arsenal rather than being everyone's favourite upcoming fixture! I really enjoyed the sojourn in the Championship, but if we are serious about building back up we need to be in the PL and act like we deserve to be.

Neither could Nathan Jones and he was a fucking bin-fire!

From the opposition dugout it's clearly a veritable fucking hoot!

Plus he can speak Spanish and whistle ‘Land of my Fathers’ in twenty five languages. A citizen of the world. God willing…

If the majority shareholder(s) want him out then he's out, like any other business. It's essentially Solak's call.

Martin should have gone at the start of this summer, Ankersen at the start of last summer. You would think that Solak would have realised by now that in this business, above all others, time is money.

Sutcliffe, recently pictured in the Broadmoor kitchen where he currently helps out as a porter, has recently been issued with a modified hostess trolley that can only move sideways at 0.5 mph to avoid causing concern.

I have it on good authority that during the Pochettino / Koeman era at Saints, Captain Jack's playful nickname within the squad was 'Trigger'. This may have been somewhat optimistic.

Before the season I felt that if we limped through this campaign picking up points in the likely 'mini league' in the bottom third (best case scenario) but were inevitably relegated, that the Board would stick with him. Now, given how clueless he looks and toothless his team is, I can't see them backing him for much longer. Likelihood is that people are currently being spoken to. If the atmosphere becomes toxic at games, as it did with Jones, it will do Russell Martin or the team zero favours and the new man will be starting with an avoidable mountain to climb to turn things around. If Solak (and the SFC / SR buck stops with him) needs or wants his 'flagship club' to survive and re-establish in the best league in world football, he needs to act as soon as able in recruiting a known quantity, not another idiotic left-field punt.

Over the past decade in the Prem our quartet of best managers for most would be Pochettino, Koeman, Puel (I know...), and Hassenhutl. In each case these names weren't on the fans shortlists or media radar but they all had potential or pedigree. You would think that in a multi-million pound business overseen by a billionaire chairman that reach and ambition would stretch further than Jones, Selles, and Martin.

It is indeed strange. There were some who were disappointed that the lunatic Jones was sacked, seeing him as a long-term appointment to bring us back up from the Championship. This was when we'd been a PL club for getting on for 12 years.

Demonic?

Agree with this. When we sacked Hughes December 2018 we were in 18th place, 14 played and 9 points. Replaced by Hassenhutl, the RB Leipzeig manager who has just finished second and sixth in consecutive seasons in the Bundesliga, recently resigned because he wasn't prepared to keep the seat warm for Nagelsman. Instant improvement with the same side - RH achieved 30 points in 24 games. That's the kind of galvanising calibre (players and fans) we need now if Martin cannot turn things around tout suite.

Probably, but not sure why given Martin's record he would have ever been on Wilcox's radar before the spring of 2023. Viera was available too at that time and I fancied him to come in via Wilcox's influence, Martin certainly felt left-field and a compromise.

SR has overall responsibility for appointments of course, and if Wilcox's had a man it was probably his colleague Maresca who turned us down.

If the trigger is pulled on Martin this season it will undoubtedly be another Sport Republic 'The Football League's Got Talent' masterclass. Further avoidable masochism.

I think this is his realistic target, the European Golden Shoe and a lucrative move to Real Madrid or Wolves. For now, I wish we were Torino.

Excellent evaluative analysis, but I have empirical evidence that these days Russ's beard smells of Sushi.

Just idle speculation, nothing more. The rule of thumb with the Sport Republic methodology is 'fuck knows'...

I am very happy with this, as long as he remains in the dressing room.

To be honest I can't see us sacking Martin unless we are well adrift, and even then I wouldn't be overly surprised if this Board are prepared to be relegated with him with an assumption that promotion from the Championship is relatively easy. But, my guess is that it fundamentally depends on how Solak is viewing things - once again it's his loot on the line. I wouldn't be averse to Moyes to steady the club, and would bet on him to keep this squad up. He has always focussed on getting a tune out of what he has at his disposal, a practical adaptive manager, and very able tactically. Of the other names mentioned, like many others on here I think that Potter is made for us, but doubt he will have any interest in taking on the job, particularly whilst he is on the Chelsea pay off. Further afield in terms of who is available, Joachim Low (unlikely but previously at Frieberg, a similar sized club to Saints prior to the Germany job), Xavi (Le Tiss number one fan and assuming we want to retain and refine the tippy tappy, I am fucking joking), slightly more realistically in terms of a statement appointment Roger Schmidt (relieved of duties at Benfica two weeks ago), and the Croatian double of Edin Terzic or Niko Kovac (always liked Kovac). However, in reality, should we part ways with Russ, there is a very good chance we go left-field again, and look to recruit a limited coach from a lower division who might be malleable and mouldable into a world beater. I don't think that certain members of this Board are comfortable hiring people who clearly know more about the high level game than they do.