Gloucester Saint

We all enjoyed yesterday’s game but before cupping your ear to the forum, let’s see six points against Stoke and Rotherham. Then there might be some justification. The league table is still unacceptable for the resources he has available and the Sky pundits were very clear about this yesterday. Let’s hope for more displays like yesterday and quiet satisfaction/praise from the fanbase and forum.

I didn’t know what Fox was responding to so did a little research https://voxpoliticalonline.com/2023/09/27/if-you-dont-know-why-laurence-fox-ranted-about-ava-santina-you-need-to-see-this/ Then some context further back https://metro.co.uk/2023/09/28/ava-evans-hits-back-gb-news-commentator-19569480/ Evans’s comments were fine until the last sentence about the rise in men’s mental health being used as a political weapon to beat women with which was wide of the mark, having volunteered on projects to help young men with their mental health. Up until then she makes good points that mental health for all categories needs more focus and investment. The public feedback about that final comment prior to Fox had made her re-think a bit. The other Oakeshott-Tomlinson-Evans debate being referred to is covered in the second link which Tomlinson is using on GB News as whataboutery. Evans could be better in how she expresses herself but there is some very deliberate and cynical misinterpretation from Tomlinson there which his co-presenter shoots down with ease. Fox and Wootton have no excuses and some of the whataboutery is pathetic from certain GB presenters. She’s left wing - just admit that’s your beef rather than attach misinformation to what she said in order to justify incel and hatred-filled personal attacks. Wootton you’d have thought would have kept a lower profile with the Russell Brand to make the disturbing sex allegations surrounding him recede. Now GB and Mail online have finally been forced to apply some seriously overdue editorial control to someone who is unfit to be on air. The final conclusion I draw is that it’s another clear reason never to watch Talk TV or GB News. Two nasty, tacky little channels for adults who can’t digest/think objectively about the news of the day. And look, on top Calvin Robinson’s ban, another one of of their infamous presenters with an IQ of 5 makes a similar mistake https://www.thenational.scot/news/23825123.lee-anderson-calls-carol-vorderman-plastic-gb-news-criticism/

Far better, fell off a bit for a 15 minute spell second half but otherwise big improvement. Better for being less predictable in the play, Sully and Stu excellent, KWP class, Alcaraz did valuable work pulling Cooper out of position, destabilising their midfield. Smallbone very good goal, bit more bite in his play and hopefully builds on that. AA buzzed around like a wasp and took goal very well, bit unfortunate the second deemed an OG. THB and JB at CB much better pairing and few issues with Piroe. Downes still recovering his full strength but like Smallbone, more bite. Could have done a bit better on their goal. One good stop from Baz, great distribution, not heaps to do but tidy. Bit more proactive off his line but a work in progress. Manning forward nicely, the more pragmatic system offered him more protection and he looked more comfortable.

Fuck sake, get Shea Charles on for either Smallbone or Alcaraz, solidify it a bit. Wilcox might need to get an instruction down to the bench if Martin has frozen up.

Line up slightly better but looks like a real ricket again preferring Smallbone to Shea Charles. If the latter was playing, I might actually think there was a prospect of competing. What’s is Martin’s problem with Shea Charles?

I still remember the banner over the lower East ‘Mr Blobby in, Branfoot out!’ The games where it got a bit more tasty was Oldham home (big protest outside), Sheffield Utd (in the rain) and Leeds home. No pitch invasions or tennis balls but it was a majority of supporters, overwhelming majority. Still the odd person on the Milton saying ‘who are you going to replace him with?’ as per now with Martin. Remember one away game at Wimbledon/Selhurst where the keepers and full backs were just lumping it forward and us singing ‘we love football, we hate Branfoot’. The two things that did for him in the end as far as the board were concerned was the 9000 gate v Ipswich, or that’s what it was recorded as, it was almost certainly less in the ground, and the horrific money lost on Dixon/Speedie/Hurlock’s contract. Also, I’m ITK on this, but Dimplex only stepped up as last minute shirt sponsor to help the club because all of the other options wouldn’t stump up until Branfoot left because they didn’t want the association with the protests. The board didn’t want to give in to the fans. As mostly the case over the years, the board was 100% wrong, huge improvement under Bally and Lawrie. Dimplex did get their just reward though by MLT scoring his most iconic goals and some of the best in PL history wearing their logo.

They often lose by a cricket score so seems appropriate. Although that’s unfair to Hampshire CCC who actually win things and where there’s some purpose to their existence.

Even then it would be a limp Smallbone style leg disturbing said granny’s blanket and at worst, knocking over a flask of lukewarm tea. I agree it’s a weird comment. I thought from the block 1 closure and Kingsland padded seats kicking out of scores of STHs that the board didn’t like passionate supporters? Unless they wear away colours. Such a weak, spineless, losers mentality from the club. It’s fuck all compared to what the Leeds players hear from the Revie end at times, or generations of West Ham players from the Chicken Run before they moved. Millwall players would all have stage fright on that basis. More excuses. Keep it tight, work harder, get fitter, Poch double training sessions if the other 23 teams are better than you, stop the crosses and long range efforts coming in better, attack and defend as unit, screen the back four. Not difficult and no philosophies required but the club cannot do it, even at a lower level than last year with the third most expensive squad. It doesn’t make me want to return to SMS for the foreseeable, I know that much. I have far nicer things to do than spend 2 hours in the car getting to Southampton, another 45 minutes stuck in the most stupid road layout in Europe, 90 minutes of more stationary traffic this time on the pitch with a 0-4 defeat, an hour to get out again and 2 hours more back. Did it for Pards, Nigel’s, Poch’s, Ronald’s teams, even Puel’s, as at least they gave it their all. Not doing it now and the club can call me and everyone else on here a negative Nelly if they want. But it’s their business and it’s the football equivalent of Wilko PLC or Carillion (as opposed to Carrillo who was as big a disaster). Sort it out, don’t hide behind folk being a corporate coward and stop blaming hard working people paying to watch your bullshit failures. Admit you’ve let the club and city down since 2017 and fucking own the solutions, starting with bringing in a first team manager who can install the EFL basics outlined above. I don’t want to see pages of context from the ex-Dyson bloke, I want to see the team being far harder to beat and competing properly. Tackles, headers, blocks, organisation and communication, attack and shoot like you mean it. Do the above, and you will get us back onside.

What’s he trying to reclaim? The 1950s? Laurence Fox and Beverley Turner should date - they’d be perfect for each other.

This is the thing, the injury time goals covered over the cracks but Sunderland was a deserved 5-0, Leicester Bazanu kept it to 4 but should have been 7, Ipswich hit the woodwork and missed two total sitters so that should have been 4-0, and Boro missed a number of 3 on 2s and even a 4 on 1 at only 2-1. To not even be competing is dreadful and the club is going to sink into League two or worse in the next 3-4 years if someone doesn’t come in, take charge and get football basics in place. Philosophy can follow when the back four is screened, CMs can tackle, full backs have shape and the team defends and attacks as a unit. None of which we’ve seen for over 18 months.

An advisory aspect, which would be what it was, may help the owners and SR understand better what works in the division/context the club is in at given time. Rasmus should know but clearly didn’t. A philosophy-driven Director like him has probably appointed a philosophy-driven manager and it’s a fucking disaster. Wilcox’s quotes but Martin has Rasmus’s thumbprints all over it. A recruitment process needs to flush out why Swansea and MK leaked like a sieve. That’s a tactical and training ground question. Wilcox and ultimately Dragan are making the calls because the latter signs the cheques. Wilcox chairs it. The ex-manager doesn’t have to be ex-Saints, could be somebody who likes offering advice and being involved in the industry but doesn’t want to go down the pundit route. The advice phase doesn’t have be long-term but until the club has stabilised and there’s some depth of experience hired at the top of it and Rasmus’s nose kept out. The managers come across as increasingly bewildered and lost because there’s seemingly a lack of options to bounce things off - RH, NJ, Pellegrino, Selles and now Martin. Some of them looked on the verge of a nervous breakdown frankly, especially Pellegrino, Jones and now Martin. We’ve had six years of wholly appalling decision-making bar a couple of transfers making money, this is Hotel Inspector territory because the business is failing badly with no clear way out other than signing more 19 year olds from City/Chelsea because that’s what they did with Tino and Lavia. We’ve already wasted the first season of parachute payments on more left field experiments. The board structure at the club isn’t working because it should have stopped Jones, Martin (if the recruitment had drilled down into the goals against) and we might have avoid signing a window full of lightweights in the Championship with some expertise on board. The club hierarchy has been so complacent that I’m sure they think it’s all bad luck and the fans should sing OWTS more and it’s all OK. I don’t want the club to run like this either by the way, any more than I wanted it in administration in 2009. But it’s won what, 5 league games all year? It’s supporting the football equivalent of Wilko PLC the way it’s going.

Look out for their nephew Melton at Leicester

What I find ironic is that Ryan Fraser was exactly that player at AFCB - Bellamy-like without the excesses. Why has he turned into a church mouse since joining SFC? Has to be the environment and culture is just so far off being competitive let alone winning. We will probably be told we’re lucky to be in the Championship next.

The board structure simply isn’t functioning at SFC, you can see that from what will be 5 managers in 10 months shortly which tells us there’s a lack of rigour in the selection process eg Russell your teams have conceded far too many goals to win promotion, how will amend your approach to resolve that or, very costly duplicate mistakes in the transfer market eg Carrillo/Onachu. Or indeed wrongly extending the keeper’s contract Forster/McCarthy creating a further millstone around the club’s neck. We’ve also seen one good transfer eg Tino turn into a whole strategy which is bonkers. Yes, Ankerson was at Brentford and they have been successful but where did his role start and Giles’s stop? Because I’m getting the sense he was the ideas man and Giles the doer, because Ankerson’s ideas at SFC have been a disaster one and all. All clubs make mistakes but we are seeing severe repeat ones like the examples above. Add in the appalling handling of supporter relations eg block 1, £99 Kingsland seats, and not hard to see why with the debacle on the pitch since 2017 especially at home games, why getting back to the OP’s point why the fanbase is very alienated and really the blaming that comes from the club and small minority of dickheads on here is deluded. Responding to your point, a steering group to the main board would be a critical friend to stop the club’s lurching from one crisis to another to add scrutiny from an industry perspective and challenge Rasmus et al in practical terms. SFC as an underperforming club at first team level is a very different prospect for Wilcox to Academy Director at City. The quotes at the time seem to indicate Martin was a Wilcox hire but there seems to be some doubt on that now. The best option would be no Rasmus, but he’s heavily invested in SR so not an option. SR aren’t going to sack themselves and the club ain’t an attractive purchase right now without being transformed successfully if they are going to make money. You will shoot the idea down I expect but something needs to happen to break the cycle of very poor decisions and lack of rigour. What I’m thinking is recently retired people - recently retired ex-managers, ex-players eg Steven Davis if his ACL finishes him off, ex-senior media. Not to discuss trivia like which beer is on the concourse but major decision-making and strategy. They’ve sacked Semmens, they are about to sack a fourth manager, they sacked the back room staff for RH, they’ve turned over most of the players, Crocker’s left. And it is still getting worse. We all thought the squad would still be enough to beat the bottom sides and finish say 15th but Saturday blew that theory. None of us has any faith they will appoint the strong character of a WGS, RK mould of Championship equivalent needed to turn the environment around and challenge these senior people on the bonkers ideas, and we can see Martin struggling in public just like we saw with Jones, Selles, Pellegrino and RH in the last few months. There’s just not the peer environment to bounce ideas off and support. If you don’t like my steering group idea, fair enough, but something is deeply wrong in the organisational fabric.

The issue has been for many years that there has only been one ‘football person’ which was Les Reed, Crocker and now Wilcox. Plus Semmens and Ankerson are classic examples of people appearing knowledgeable and working to a philosophy but not backing it up. That’s OK when you have an alpha manager like Ronald, Poch, or strong-minded (Nigel, Pards) to an extent earlier RH that’s ok. But when you’re appointing risky candidates - Martin, Jones, Pellegrino, Selles, all worse than Branfoot (and I was around then too) - it leaves them very isolated and the Saints come with a lot of scrutiny and an ownership group with no depth of industry experience really to fall back on, which is why the fans have heard a lot of management speak and theories. What the club needs to fill the void is a football governance board with former managers and players who the manager and club can draw upon until SR learns the industry. They won’t do it as they genuinely think they’re unique and they’ve cracked it. Reality is they’re deluded.

Might as well put Jack to use where he’s injured for a while. Speaks well, can organise, players respect him and already club captain. It’s got a fuck sight worse since he got injured v QPR.

And that stat - 5 managers in just 10 months - says everything in how the club lacks rigour in everything it is doing. So once we have a caretaker, then let’s start with getting the process more robust. Chair of the panel - Wilcox. Has to be really. Members - Tony Pulis - no way Martin’s goals against record at Swansea or MK would be getting past him without a grilling and no philosophical bullshit. Success at similar sized clubs, lives locally and speaks well of the club. Will spot a chancer like Martin. Jeremy Wilson/Henry Winter - can they handle a bit of criticism and scrutiny which comes with the job eg Nathan Jones. Steven Davis - former club captain, MBE, played at huge clubs and ultimate professional. How do you handle a diverse dressing room and get respect? Eg RH falling out with segments of the squad. Emphasis has to be on impressing a tough but fair room. I bet with this process we would get someone more capable and confident on the basic nuts and bolts.

My favoured option is Ryan Lowe, would not take shit from SR and make it clear that Wilcox is working to his targets and not vice versa. Bloke’s teams win matches despite not having the biggest budget. Blackmore would be scared stiff of interviewing him, but so would the players and the whole environment desperately needs organisation, structure and discipline. Whether he’d want it or whether the SFC job is seen in the industry as a very toxic chalice until SR inevitably sell up is another matter. Whoever succeeds Martin in the next couple of weeks needs to insist on being in full control of all men’s first team football matters with their coaching set-up. Ankerson and co need to be totally kept away from any decisions whatsoever regarding SFC. Football professionals only. Wilcox might have got some good fees in but his purchases have been fucking dreadful. The club is drifting back to League one and worse, needs to be an alpha character who says ‘I’m in charge’ like Koeman did. Les Reed didn’t like it and Rasmus/Wilcox wouldn’t but they’ve failed, so it needs to be a clean slate to cleanse the complacency out of the culture and demand the best people can do within the framework. No excuses around budget or facilities, they are as good as you get for this level, but there’s a huge lack of industry savvy and a lot of bullshit goes unchallenged. Stop the marketing slogans and concentrate on clean sheets and three points each week. Keep it simple.

Some of the pissed off people in the Northam were probably ejected from Block 1 last season, to go with those evicted from the central Kingsland for the £99 padded seats. Combined with with others being under attack from away fans openly permitted in home areas and it’s no wonder relationships are strained with the support base left which the club hasn’t alienated. Frankly, 30k gates early was above and beyond from our fans with the amount of they’ve tolerated. The club has reverted to type in the last 3 games, serving up more spineless football with empty marketing slogans. All the OWTS in the world won’t stop 3 or 4 cheap goals conceded per game (it would have been if Ipswich could shoot) because the manager can’t do his job (yet again). More cheap fan blame. Get it right on the pitch and stop making excuses.

Wouldn’t surprise me with the sheer arrogance of the know nothing corporate blob running the club plus Les had fucked the club over with the pretence he knew anything about top level football transfers financially eg Vestergaard, Moi, Carrillo. No way that Pelle, Tadic or Mane weren’t Ronald’s insistences. No way either Ralph said ‘let’s buy Lyanco because some chancer who failed FFP was allowed the buy the club and we’re skint’ either.

Alex Neil has blotted his copybook going to Stoke and struggling with Mowbray getting Sunderland flying, otherwise he’d have been an option. Mowbray would have been a good choice for this level, proper football man with good record on not much money. Ryan Lowe at PNE who are flying and laid the foundations for Schumacher to build on at Plymouth, was his assistant. Lowe is direct and says what he thinks, so probably not suited to the political corporate blandness SFC has become. Pity as his teams have won a lot of games over the last few years and play decent stuff. Robins is very attached to Coventry and they’ve spent some cash with a new owner. Warnock would liven things up a lot and make home games interesting for the first time since 2016 and offer some much needed character but with a lot more savvy than Nathan had with the media. Millions of promotions at this level but as direct Ryan Lowe in saying in what he thinks. Fine with it myself but the spreadsheet Reading/MK Dons plastics who run the club would hate it especially as none of them could come anywhere his success in the industry. Schumacher a good option if he could be tempted, doesn’t seem to have his head up his own arse tactically. I like Pearson, started a bit better after bobbing around in lower mid-table with Bristol. As with Lowe and Warnock, too strong a character for the beige brigade to handle. If they want to go hipster again, at least consider Tomasson at Blackburn. Either way, only a couple of weeks at most until we find out. No coincidence Dragan, Kraft and Wilcox were all there against Ipswich and apparently looking pissed off. They won’t wait as long as they did with Jones.

It won’t be a magic wand to change the sickening and unwarranted smugness/complacency rife in the executive corridors but putting players into better positions at first team level for their strengths/weaknesses and maximising organisation around what you have - basics of being in business and a managerial position. The club should at least be competing for the play-offs under a solid basic manager if they do that. At the moment, it’s very obvious to anyone involved in the game be it a coach, player or supporter to beat a Russell Martin outfit. And the tub thumping about how he turned Swansea (from Steve Cooper apparently!) and MK Dons around to the heady heights of 9th is prime Nathan Jones and Luton. So yeah, a bit of organisation on the training ground and a stronger character to tell Rasmus et al to fuck off because they’ve achieved something at first team football level would improve things pretty clearly.

Quite - appointing mediocrity on the basis of a ‘philosophy’ was madness for a club with parachute payments and that budget. I’m just laughing at the shittiness since 2017 and arrogance/ignorance of Reed/Kreuger/Semmens/Ankerson and now Wilcox. Bullshitters all. Doesn’t help that there’s an ongoing competition to appoint a worse first team manager than Ian Branfoot now. He’s out of the relegation zone now after Pellegrino, Nathan Jones and worst all, this bullshitting buffoon, rock bottom. Sports Republic - get out of our club, we don’t want you. Martin - get a new job as a You Tube quack selling questionable medical products. You certainly aren’t convincing anyone you aren’t a total phoney as a football manager.

He ought to focus to pulling his finger out at the other end, dreadful finishing tonight. AA been just as appalling.

He’ll be history shortly, sounded like a more articulate Nathan Jones with the underlying defensiveness. Blaming others and the fans. I’m already thinking of him as a caretaker, dread to think who the club will go for next. Wilcox might as well have a go himself, can’t do any worse than the garbage over the last 12-18 months in the dug out.