CamSaint

Bristol City's current manager got FC Koln promoted from Bundesliga 2 last season and was then promptly sacked! So other clubs have shopped in that market recently (although he had also had Championship experience, having managed Barnsley for a year in 2019-20).

Irrespective of who the next manager is, or what system he employs, what would posters on here be expecting in terms of results in the first, say, 5-10 games? Wilder went back to Sheffield United with much fanfare but has W3 and L5 of his first 8 games. Many on here would have been delighted if we had got Rohl, but he has W2 and L3 in his first 5 matches at Rangers. Now you could argue that both those men face big jobs to recover from the messes that they inherited, but wouldn't that also be the case for whoever comes here? So what would we consider to be success in the short term before we start calling for another replacement?

I'm not sure we could afford to take on his wages again at this level, especially if the objective is to also strengthen elsewhere (striker?🤞).

I see that after all the fanfare surrounding Wilder's return, he has lost 5 of his 8 games back in charge (including losing to Saints). His 9 points from 8 games is very similar to Still's efforts, so I'm not sure he'll be feeling too comfortable there yet.

Distilled from the 2 pressers: Charles, Jelert, Stewart, Edozie out injured, Welington suspended. Robinson & Sesay have both been ill. Jay managed 65 mins for the U-21s on Wednesday but Sesay didn't play. Archer has an ankle problem and hasn't trained all week; Downes got a knock on his knee in training so will have a late assessment. Aribo & Matsuki in contention for tomorrow, but Aribo unlikely to be able to manage 90 mins. One of those rare occasions when Saints huge squad may be a blessing?

The problem is, appointing a new manager is always a massive gamble for any club (look at Forest this season). Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't irrespective of the 'new manager's' background. There's a really interesting article on the BBC today about Sunderland's manager, LeBris (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cy7envzn722o). There are quite a few parallels with Still, although LeBris had played some professional football. But he was hired by Sunderland on the back of leaving Lorient 'by mutual consent' following their relegation from Ligue 1. He had no Championship experience, or any experience of managing in the UK, but came in and did a brilliant job, getting Sunderland firing from the get go in the Championship last season and doing really well so far in the PL. I'm sure everyone on here would have never had heard of him before (I certainly hadn't), but Sunderland took a chance on him and it worked. Saints took a chance on Still and it certainly hasn't worked so far and it is hard to see any way forward with him. However, left field appointments are not always useless!

Rodgers available: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/czxkezdp9z5o

Interesting comparisons: 1. Coventry sacked Mark Robins on 7th November last year - they were 17th with 15 points from 14 games (very similar to Saints' current return). Lampard was appointed on 28th November, by which point Coventry were still 17th, but now had 17 points from 17 games. Under Lampard, Coventry finished in the play-offs (5th) with 69 points. 2. Luton left it later, not sacking Rob Edwards until 9th January this year - they were 20th with 25 points from 26 games (by this stage, Coventry under Lampard were still only 16th with 29 points from 26 games). Matt Bloomfield replaced Edwards on 14th January and Luton went on to be relegated on goal difference, finishing on 49 points. Two completely different sides of the coin. Don't know how enamoured Coventry fans were initially with Lampard's appointment, but clearly it worked. Also interesting that both of the sacked managers are doing well so far this season with their new clubs: Edwards currently 2nd with Middlesborough & Robins 5th with Stoke.

Maybe bench chances for the likes of Matsuki, Aribo & Edozie?

Sounds perfect for Saints - hasn't played a Championship match this season due to a shoulder injury in August that required surgery. Maybe he'll be fit again by January.

Who plays RB in a 4? The last time he played a back 4 was at Hull with Roerslev at RB and he had a terrible game and hasn't played since. According to the OS, Jelert is out for 4-6 weeks with injury, so we are limited for choice. Edwards, I suppose might be a candidate, but doesn't sound too inspiring.......

I don't think that the video option is available in the UK.

Still said on the OS that Jelert had pulled something in his groin or thigh, so I assume he must be a doubt for this game.

Seven players away on international duty: Charles, Azaz, Manning, Baz, Mads (recalled to the Denmark squad), Quarshie & Robinson.

Absolutely. Last season on Jan 1st, Coventry were 14th with 29 points and finished 5th with 69 points, and Bristol City were 10th with 34 points, finishing 6th with 68 points.

Currently Stewart 2 league goals, Armstrong 2 league goals & Archer 1. Unless we get injuries, I doubt that Downs is likely to feature in match day squads any time soon

Surely they'll just try to extend his loan to the end of the season as then he'll be a free agent? (Unless Saints decide to extend his contract).

It was only a 2 year extension - the '3 years' that everyone complains about includes the current year which was part of his original contract. Nevertheless, I agree that a 1 year extension (keeping him here for 2 years) would have made a lot more sense.

It would be interesting to know what the Ts&Cs were in the previous managers' contracts. All those who have been sacked by SR (Ralph, Jones, Martin & Juric) are currently employed at other clubs; Selles was released as his contract was up & Rusk was only ever an interim appointment. So I wonder whether we are still paying anyone off? Of course would have to pay Still off if he was sacked.......

For everyone wanting some extra depth in one or more positions, we shouldn't lose sight of the size of the squad and its manageability, number wise. In addition to our 9 new arrivals, Bazunu, Edwards, Charles, Edozie, Matsuki, AA and BBD all returned from loan at the beginning of pre-season. None of those 7 were named in the first team squad that finished last season, so we effectively had 16 incoming, plus we have added Sesay from the U-21s. I think that a great job was done in moving on so many unwanted players during the window, but the fact remains that there are still 29 in the current first team squad as listed on the OS, and that number will remain unless Edozie, Aribo or both are moved on soon. The 29 includes 4 keepers, but only 2 would feature in a matchday squad of 20 players. That means that there are 18 matchday spaces for the remaining 25 outfield players. So, if everyone is fit, no less than SEVEN of our first team squad won't make it into matchday! Obviously there will be injuries (for example, Welington currently has a long-ish term injury) and suspensions to deal with, but it is going to be quite a challenge keeping everyone happy!

Not quite in the same category but I see that Nico Lawrence was let go yesterday (https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/academy-confirm-transfer-deadline-day-movements). I seem to remember that he was very highly rated a couple of years ago but hasn't been able to kick on despite having several loans.

Bit of a risk as if he turns out to be like our other strikers, we'll be stuck with him when we get back to the PL

Interesting that Fabrizio's original tweet yesterday said that personal terms had already been agreed and it was the fee that was being negotiated. Who to believe, eh?

It started off as a good idea.........

According to Transfermarkt he only played 12 matches last season, missing 22 games due to a variety of injuries. On that basis, he does sound very 'Saintsy', but I wouldn't be very happy if we were after him!