coalman

Is Romeu the new Lallana?

He didn't try to hit the ground running though. He lost me when he squandered the time off for the World Cup and didn't set himself up for the winnable run of games after. By which point the writing was on the wall. He had the potential to be magnificently crazy a la Mourinho but he wound up doing a Sturrock (who, if memory serves, asked someone else to take training first thing so he could have a bacon sarnie).

Tell that to Erasmus.

It's symptomatic of the culture of the club. Nothing is ever anyone's fault. Responsibility is a form of performative art. And this culture starts at the top - as a former boss used to say "a fish rots from the head".

To be fair Tonda is a very ambitious appointment. It's just that, as with all things Sport Republic, ambition isn't matched by capability. "Bravery" isn't just for the football pitch.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/ckgzg0z6ngdo Manning just wanted to come out and say the players aren't to blame. Showing a passion for defending himself he has failed to replicate in defending his own goal. Luckily he's just in the team to swan about and take the odd free kick instead of taking any responsibility.

Tonda's had two weeks to work with them now. Gone are the chaotic tactics of QPR and Sheff Wed and instead we'll see the slick, high intensity football that is the hallmark of a Sport Republic club.

At this point I think it's fair to say that Sport Republic don't have any kind of master plan other than doing random things and hoping that, eventually, it all turns out for the best. Even if they have identified someone (and by all appearances it looks like their preference is for Tonda) it's highly unlikely that that someone is going to be able to turn this particular ship around. Even if, by some fluke they did, that person is unlikely to have the space to make the changes that are necessary.

Sport Republic have always been about the pathway from the U21s to the first team. It's about making sure we don't lose our brightest talents to other teams. Or some such genius.

Any manager that has the hubris to do a YouTube "masterclass" is probably more interested in promoting themselves than managing a football club.

The Jones celebration if they win will be a frothing masterpiece for the ages.

The great thing about our players is that they seem to be just as good without any coaching

5 at the back. Armstrong down the middle. Fellows at wing back. THB and Stephens playing keepball. What's not to be excited about?

He said Google twice and while he may have had a chat with someone at Google at some point he had fuck all to do with Google's well.publicised research into high performing teams. Saints do not meet any of Google's five requirements for high performing teams.

Have they learnt nothing from Sport Republic's genius?

I believe it's a choice between Tonda Eckert, T. Eckert, Tonda E. and Mr Eckert.

I'd rather see action before the goal than reaction after it. Tired of watching our defence throw their hands in the air blaming each other. I would expect my captain to be telling someone to get rid of it before we committed footballing suicide. Nice bloke who cares only gets you so far.

Steve Jobs is meant to have said "As hire A players, Bs hire C players". The people running our club are, sadly, Cs. The glaring issues with our squad were and have been for a while - no striker since Ings. We got Archer last summer, Downs this summer and Stewart the summer before. We are now playing Armstrong through the middle - goalkeeper. We brought in Ramsdale last summer. He didn't go that well and now he's sat on Newcastle's bench and we're left with Baz and McCarthy - central midfield. Jander looks like a player but is a 34 year old Romeu going to make our midfield less porous? Probably not if we persist with our bat shit formation. - bloated squad. It's still too bloated and reverts to Russball at the drop of a hat - manager. Is it even possible to succeed at Saints? - culture. No winning mentality and complacency. Extending captain Jack ensured continuity of this. - defence. Ball watching. Out of position players who get in each others way. Weak against crosses. We brought in Quarshie who is a beast but raw and can't get a game, Jelert who can't get a game and Roerslev who barely gets a game. - creating chances. We bought in Fellows who we're playing at wingback and Azaz who looks lost. It's Spors job to fix this and no fix seems to be in sight. Picking Tinda as a continuity candidate is a bit mental because the last thing we need right now is continuity of the ineffective football we've produced over the last couple of years. On paper we've got a squad that should be doing much better but we've recruited into an environment where players get worse and our team is considerably less than the sum of its parts

Because it doesn't make for a compelling Ted Talk.

Whoever they choose I sincerely hope they succeed. However, it's Sport Republic doing the choosing so chances are low. Throw in our players who apparently still long for the pampered days of Russell Martin and will undermine anyone who hurts their feelings and we're fucked for the foreseeable future. Our culture of mediocrity, platitudes and lack of accountability is so ingrained now that anyone is going to struggle to change it. We have senior people from Sport Republic actively involved in a succession of terrible decisions and the most revolving of manager revolving doors. Then whoever comes in through the door has to confront the ghost of Russball past.

8 points clear of the relegation zone!

We need another couple. Can't see us defending a 2-1 lead

If we blow a 2-0 lead to lose to Sheff Wed at home can we sack Eckert and appoint another interim coach while SR dick around with Still's replacement?

Usually at 2-0 after 15 minutes you'd be asking how many will we get but right now I'm wondering whether we'll concede the equaliser in the 60th or 70th minute