coalman

At the rate we get through managers - any manager that manages to last six months has done an incredible job.

We would still have the problem that none of our forwards bar maybe Stewart on the occasions when he is fit is capable of leading a line. It was what they were trying to do with Downs before we realised that Spors thinks he's still in Bundesliga 2. We have the further problem that our "system" makes any lone striker even more isolated than normal because all our midfielders are back because our centre backs, Manning and Downes enjoy playing keep ball. Which particularly doesn't suit Armstrong's game. At heart he's an attacker that's going to pounce on loose balls and the odd through ball. His shoot on sight policy means he's always looking to score but only rarely is he the effective focal point in attack (and never in the Premier League).

Shortly after Eckert took over.

He can't play as a lone CF and isn't going to get on the end of the crosses that Fellows and Scienza put in. His performances as captain have not been inspirational and he's easily bullied off the ball by defenders. Throw in his comments about not trying to the previous manager and I'm not sure it's such a bad thing.

We have bought Scandinavian attacking players after scoring 2 against Man City before.... Elyounnousi did that in the Champions League as well

Then again maybe he did though this page also states "Rasmus Ankersen is the best keynote speaker on Talent-Management and Scouting." https://premium-speakers.com/en/speaker-presenter/rasmus-ankersen/

Re-read what's written there - it only says he "studied for" not that he obtained his coaching badge. He then studied for UEFA's A Licence, and became the assistant-coach for the under-17 team at a club

The keeper was right on top of him so I thought he shifted it sideways to avoid that.

In which he explains that Southampton's current struggles are a necessary part of restructuring the club into the pure engine of footballing innovation it needs to be. TRUST. THE. PROCESS.

https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/video/eckert-on-first-home-defeat Wow. That body language is shocking. More bollocks about there being two different games. Didn't have much to say at half time because we created so many chances. The interviewer sounds like someone talking to someone on suicide watch that desperately wants not to be the one that pushes their interviewee over the edge.

Getting coaching badges is time consuming and distracts from the important work of being a disruptive entrepreneur. Far simpler to hire someone cheap and compliant that already has a badge to enact your grand vision.

The first win was luck. We were dreadful. The next few were down to other teams not pressing us and allowing us to play and we won it in the first half before they adapted. Since then anyone playing Saints knows exactly how to set up. The latest defeat was could be considered a bit unlucky on the balance of chances created. Except we committed suicide with our defending to convert what should have been a win into a narrow defeat.

Fixed that for you 😉

Who wouldn't want to join the famous Saints youth pathway. Where your coaches change every few weeks and eventually you might get a loan / free transfer to a L1 / L2 side.

He'd still be more likely to head in a cross than Armstrong.

The more people you add to your echo chamber the louder the echo.

This is some of the real lasting harm the way we operate does. Our turnover and managers means no stability across the board (including the U21 coaches we've thrown to the wolves). Then each successive "leader" brings in their own people who remain after they've left. Anyone good gets to move to a better place and we're left with the dross. It's the Dead Sea Effect in action. The trouble is that our high turnover and poor recruitment of people means we accumulate mediocre people faster than good people and the few good people we luck into are gone in a heartbeat leaving us with a growing pool of mediocrity. At which point the mediocre entrench themselves to preserve the status quo. Paraphrased from (https://brucefwebster.com/2008/04/11/the-wetware-crisis-the-dead-sea-effect/) But in my experience, that’s not what happens. Instead, what happens is that the more talented people are the ones most likely to leave — to evaporate, if you will. They are the ones least likely to put up with the frequent stupidities and workplace problems that plague large organizations; they are also the ones most likely to have other opportunities that they can readily move to. What tends to remain behind is the ‘residue’ — the least talented and effective people. They tend to be grateful they have a job and make fewer demands on management; even if they find the workplace unpleasant, they are the least likely to be able to find a job elsewhere. They tend to entrench themselves, ..., assuming responsibilities that no one else wants so that the organization can’t afford to let them go.

15 in 20 is some scoring record. Great to score under pressure, attacking a cross with his head and making his own chance with a bit of magic. Our attackers turn back under pressure, can't win headers in the box and rarely produce moments of magic. We're going to regret letting him go but after his injury nightmare the lad deserves every success he gets.

If only it was only twice

You honestly want no part of the medication I'm currently injecting myself with 😉

Every so often our players are going to rouse themselves to "prove" that they've still got it. I have the sneaking suspicion that Wednesday is going to be one of those days. Followed by lots of chest thumping and press interviews. After all if they're not careful they might get a manager who makes them work hard. 2-1 to Saints (because clean sheets aren't our thing)

A good start would be to get rid of any player brought in by Martin. Start with the ones who had previously played for him. The culture is so bad I'd seriously consider terminating the contracts of several of them on the spot even if it meant paying off their contracts.

There aren't many players who leave everything in the changing room in the same way.

The difference between a competent data scientist and someone pretending to do data science is enormous. Then your shit data scientist hires equally shit data scientists while they all sit around circle jerking about how they're data driven. Or, you have a "visionary" leader that hires data scientists to support their gut instincts. Neither of these situations results in data being used effectively to good outcomes. Sadly, I think Southampton have managed to create an organisation that suffers from both these dysfunctions.

It's only a positive if they recognise that we have the players to pepper opponents with crosses but that only works if we have centre forwards who can score from them. 3 years on we really shouldn't need to keep relearning that Adam Armstrong alone in the middle doesn't work (or that like for liking him with Archer also doesn't work). And, that Stewart needs to be used sparingly if we're to avoid breaking him again.