Forester

I would love to be proved wrong, but I am fearful that Eckert will lack the experience and presence needed when we hit a tough patch. And so right now I would still be looking externally. However I think we are in an intriguing time of the season where, unless we make an appointment over this next week, it is highly likely that Eckert will be in charge for three more games, not one. There will be limited opportunity to prepare anything too radical between the Charlton and Leicester games, and again then between Leicester and Millwall. After that there is a whole week before the next game again so Birmingham, and so assuming it is external you would guess it will be someone in the stand watching Millwall game and then taking training from the Monday. If you accept this assumption, then things get super interesting. Imagine Eckert takes seven, or even nine, points from those three fixtures. It then becomes hard NOT to appoint him from the perspective of Sport Republic. In my opinion this is unlikely, as while I expect QPR and Sheff We’d to both be in bottom half, I think all of Charlton, Leicester and Millwall are play off candidates. But regardless of our individual opinions (and I repeat I think we should go external) you can see a scenario that he almost ends up appointing himself with three more good results in a week!

Totally forgot about him!

As others have pointed out, we don’t have a great record of caretakers then being appointed permanently. Gray, Wigley and Selles were all unsuccessful after promising starts.

For anyone taken in by this, click on MB’s “exclusive” revelations in Jan window😂😂😂

Quite frankly the views of fans about SR are at rock bottom. And there isn’t going to be a ready made popular genius turn up. So I do genuinely get your point, and it’s a shame that some fans will feel it’s a slap in the face, but if SR genuinely believe he is right man for the job they should appoint him. Fans are fickle and a few wins in the noise will go.

Other than erudite comments such as “fuck that skate”, I have yet to hear any compelling argument as to why O’Neil should be excluded. Older fans well remember Horne and Crouch being hugely popular players despite formerly playing for Pompey, and Viafara was pretty popular too. None of whom ever gave less than a shift and in Crouch’s case was player of the season. From personal family knowledge I can assure you that people inside the game look at what is in their professional interests, and if the right opportunity comes up will not give these issues much thought. And to repeat, he grew up as Millwall fan. Like all the other clubs he played at, he recalls good times. So what? Moving away from all this, what is indisputable is that he clocked up two successful season at unfancied Premier League clubs. Bournemouth had just been promoted, shipped nine at Anfield and sacked Parker. He stepped in and guided them to mid table safety. For a newly promoted side that is excellent. Then at Wolves Lopertegi walked out the week before the season started saying squad was inadequate to survive. Again he led them to comfortable mid table finish. Great job. Following season he was sacked midway through. It happens. Strachan, Potch and Koeman were all sacked earlier in their careers, and then subsequently. You can bet if he gets the job he will be desperate to succeed, and the above track records suggests if he can get us up he has much better chance of keeping us up than Martyn and many others do. So if appointed put the childish stuff to one side.

Yes I watched it. It starts with “I grew up as a Millwall fan”

I would be very happy with O’Neil. Hope everyone who says “no skate” didn’t celebrate Crouch being our player of the season 20 years ago…

On the train and relieved to win. Unrealistic to expect champagne football after our awful run, so a scrappy backs to the walls win is fine in my book. Will hopefully lift the mood. Thought we looked more composed with Stephens in the back and there was one moment when he and THB absolutely took strips off Azaz for another lame piece of defending. Don’t think we deserved to win in all honesty but it makes up for Swansea when we certainly did.

Good post. To get automatic promotion, the original goal, it needed two points per game to finish on 92. Usually enough. What you are pointing out, correctly, is that FROM HERE we need to hit the originally required run rate to achieve play offs. No evidence that we will, but shows it’s not a miracle required with the right coaching and right investment in January.

Have results validated his decision?

Gary O’Neil has just withdrawn from the Wolves job. In my opinion he would be an excellent choice. Yes he played for Pompey, but he grew up in London and isn’t a Pompey fan. We have had Crouch and JWP who have become popular players who either played or were raised there, along with Alan Ball who managed them before us (admittedly having played for us). Did a great job at Bournemouth taking over from Parker, then did great job at Wolves taking over just before start of season. Was sacked by Wolves in second season, his first taste of disappointment. But looks like they wanted him back. As Steve Grant said on TSP, it would be high risk as he would not get a honeymoon period with some fans, but for me would be very credible.

This caption had me in tears of laughter!

Nobody has named Vitor Pereira. Did an incredible turnaround job last season when they looked doomed, vastly experienced and until the very end was hugely popular with the fans. I am pretty sure he was being looked at a few years back. Regardless of who we choose, very few have a perfect record of success unless you are appointing from lower leagues inexperienced candidate. Prior to joining us, all of Strachan, Poch and Koeman had been sacked. And all three have subsequently been sacked. Would Ange take a look at us? And no, I don’t mean Rayner…

McCarthy Roeslev (if Jelert still injured), THB, Wood, Manning Jander, Downes, Azaz Scienza, Armstrong, Fellows Aribo on bench back from the dead (Connolly vibes!)

Trust me I get it, he has a lot to prove in my eyes too. Think the wider SR context is key too

No wish to repeat prior post but I would not be pulling trigger yet as we risk becoming a figure of fun club a la Watford, and we have played just 12 games. We need to see strong improvement between now and the halfway mark, when I think it is more credible to make a change if nothing gets better. On the wider “club in chaos” point, over the last few years I agree most SR decisions have been poor and they retain responsibility for this mess. However I don’t think things are quite so helpless as some make out right now. Here are reasons not to reach for the pistol and whiskey (as hard as Saints make it!) - while there are some poor signings (Downs) thee are several players who have shown early signs of being really good acquisitions, specifically Jelert, Jander and Scienza. In one window under Spors that isn’t tragic, but a clear mistake made in striker department. Along with experienced but currently under performing players in the squad that is the bones of a good side, but we have really only seen about 180 mins of good football so far. - if Spors goes (and it will be fascinating to understand what his contract says re release clause) we now have a head of recruitment who has been here for months and would have primary responsibility for lining up potential signings. Its then over to an exec to actually negotiate the terms. That isn’t end of the world. - what is more tricky is if Still needs sacking (see above) then who makes that decision is absence of Spors and who appoints? This may play in Still’s favour to be given more time

Horrendous journey up there and missed first two minutes. While I agree we could have won this is we had taken our Armstrong chances, as doubtless game would have panned out differently, in truth the performance was poor, especially second half. I was optimistic after Swansea, and thought we looked good for first hour at Brizzle, but this was not that type of performance. Poor quality game, littered with errors, and back to it being hard to discern any pattern of intended play. Then, like Tuesday, once we go behind the performance levels totally cave in. I thought Charles was our best player before getting injured, and we now have our best two full backs both out (Jelert and Welington) along with our best performing midfielder and striker. Grim. A couple of other worrying observations, Wood was looking great before Tuesday but has had two bad games on the spin, similarly Edwards and Quarshie look like they went backwards today. Azaz anonymous again, and I have yet to see anything at all from Roeslev that looks like a Premier League player of 100 appearances. I really want to see Still grow into the job and learn fast, but I am developing a horrible feeling that the players don’t rate him and aren’t playing for or him. There are too many experienced players not firing or excluded for it to be a coincidence. I hope I am wrong and he turns it around but things aren’t looking good.

I think we will see changes for this, through combination of needing to turn it around and third game in a week. Great shame both right backs are injured. McCarthy Edwards, Wood, THB, Manning Charles, Downes Fellows, Azaz, Scienza Amstrong

This is a good post

Well that maintains my record of only ever seeing defeats at Ashton Gate. And made worse by A36 being closed on way home! Trying to be fair and balanced, but after what I thought was a good performance and a clean sheet I was pleased we kept same team other than expected both wing backs to change as thought Welington would struggle to do two games in three days. So I think hindsight critics are out in force on team selection. Thought we played well for an hour and again created clear cut chances with some brain farts to concede. Again cannot blame manager for that. However the final 30 mins was alarming, felt like a throw the towel in finish which may be unfair as players are young abut that is how it looked. You could see Still looking down the line thinking “I don’t want to bring Downs on” but eventually realised he had no other striker choice. Saturday assumes huge importance as think it will be seen, fairly or not, as “are the players playing for Still”?

Worth looking at the team who finished the season in play offs two years ago and do a quick comparison. Goalkeeper unchanged Centre Backs Stephens/Bednarek/THB v Quarshie/Edwards/Wood I would say the former was a more experienced unit who performed well in play offs, but latter has lots of potential and so hard to call this until later in season Wing backs KWP/Manning v multiple options on right this season is a downgrade Midfield (recognising different style) Downes/Armstrong/Aribo/Smallbone v Charles/Jander/Downes I think is a downgrade now, but has potential. We have lost lots of midfield goals from the attacking midfield options of two years ago (Aribo, Smallbone and Armstrong scored 15 between them). A bit like centre backs, this may feel better as season progresses but I don’t see goals coming, unless Azaz gets back in team and is firing Forward line Brooks/Adams/Armstrong/Edozie v Fellows/Fraser/Stewart/Armstrong/Archer/Downs/Scienza for me is a downgrade and given fitness uncertainty of Stewart I don’t see it hitting those heights. A fully fit Stewart and Armstrong playing week in and week out I do think would match Adams and Armstrong goals from that season but unlikely to happen. So I think there are two departments where there is potential to grow and develop, a serious downgrade in right wing back (albeit Jelert barely seen) but I cannot see volume of goals from midfield and forwards being replaced. That should frame the January discussion

We are not even a quarter of the way through the season, are four points off the play offs and unbeaten in three. While I am frustrated as everybody else, it is ridiculous levels of impatience to be agitating for a managerial change. He will have his work cut out in this next batch of fixtures with no Stewart, but needs to find other ways of winning given that Downs looks unselectable.

Thought we started well, and again Stewart looked a proper target man. Armstrong and Stewart for me is a good partnership in this division. McCarthy again showing he stops more shots than Baz. However, as soon as Stewart goes off we lack that figurehead and Downs is clearly not the answer. Feels like a massive transfer mistake unless he really turns things around. We either need to learn to play a different way with Archer and Armstrong, which is possible but hard when you will inevitably not be playing too often on the break, or can I suggest a radical and not ideal alternative. Could Aribo be used as a back to goal striker and link up play? Cannot be any worse than Downs.