SaintsRoyalty

Scored another goal at the weekend and the weekend before 2 more. Now on 21 goals in 23 league games in a top league in Europe. Meanwhile we have a thread on Dom Ballard and how we shouldn’t have sold him. Don’t get me wrong, I liked Ballard and would have kept him but he wouldn’t have done the business in the champ. Just would have preferred him as an option over Archer. This for me sums up Saints fans perfectly. No active thread about a player that was actually decent and we shouldn’t have sold but a thread about someone doing alright at a lower level than we hopefully will ever have to play at. There is literally no logic here.

Nearly getting back to a fully fit squad. Who drops out of the Coventry matchday squad for Scienza, Stewart, Wellington? I draw the line at Jay Robinson getting back in but what if he’s considered? Of course you would hope that useless oath Archer would drop out but can’t see it unfortunately.

Aren’t you forgetting Cameron Archer? 😆

So you think it’s a good idea to have two pretty ineffective CMs on the bench and no wingbacks? One is old and his legs have gone and the other is new to the men’s game. Maybe have one on the bench but both? What if Bree had to go off then? Who’s playing wingback? These are the sort of decisions that show Eckart is too inexperienced to get us across the line. The teams above us are not going to give us many chances to catch them. This will be a huge missed opportunity if we lose this and you can’t blame Still for it.

Sorry but why the fuck are Romeu and Bragg both on the bench? Both nothing players which you only throw on if we are winning by a few goals. We are trying to chase promotion you idiot Eckart! Why the passengers in an obvious banana skin?? No wingbacks on the bench is ridiculous. Where is Jelert?

Credit where it’s due he managed a good game against prem competition today. Admittedly Fulham were missing their best players and were poor but we still played like a unit and created lots of chances. I still wouldn’t want him as our manager in the prem as experience and a pull factor for players is required but it’s getting harder to call him a PE teacher now.

Of course but we are not bigging up him scoring 10 goals or something or in a definitely lower league. He's scored 18 goals in 21 league games which is nearly a goal every game in a top league featuring players that play or have played in the champions league. He has more goals in the league than top strikers like Icardi (13), Asensio (11), Osimhen (11), Abraham (7), En-nesyri (7), Sane (6) etc. Some of these have played for the biggest teams in Europe and are still linked to big moves. Saints fans have a real inherent problem with the way they treat genuinely proven talented footballers just because we misused them here. The elaborate theories people have to make something fit a certain narrative is wild. For example, some people on here are saying we should have kept Ballard because he’s scored 16 goals in league 1. Yet Onuachu wouldn’t be good in the champ? Our form has clearly improved since we started playing a big guy up front.

People were saying the same thing about Martin in our last promotion run. He was the messiah, that long unbeaten run, moments of free flowing football etc but then went on to arguably show himself to be one of the most delusional and out of his depth managers in the history of the premier league. He couldn’t even get Rangers winning in a 2 team league. Winning is easy when you hold most the cards. I don’t want to be a downer or pick on Eckart, but if people can’t see the parallels between his position and Martin then it explains why it’s been Groundhog Day at this club since Koeman. Our squad is easily in the conversation as being the best squad in the league so winning nearly every game is the bare minimum. Yes he’s made some of the simple decisions that for some reason have been difficult to make at the club like doing 4 at the back, ditching the worst keeper in the whole of Europe, having a target man etc, but when the playing field is more level or worse we are an underdog like we will be in the prem, do you want Eckart on the touchline? History is repeating itself and we will be bottom of the prem with a few points but won’t put him out of his misery until Jan by which time only someone desperate will take the job with little time to do anything about us flirting with that 11 point Derby total. We had our best period in recent memory under Koeman because he’s Koeman. He has experience, pedigree and gravitas. Better players were attracted to the club and the whole standards increased. Maybe some of you can’t see it but we are on a hiding to nothing with Eckart. Just an impending dose of Deja vu.

Now on a scarcely believable 18 goals in 21 league games. We would be top 2 right now with him and Peretz.

Unfortunately, I can’t see the huge wave Wrexham have been surfing since deadpool got involved not carrying them to the prem. they have fought back from losing positions to win a number of games this season showing they have heart. When the inevitable happens and we finish outside the playoffs, I’m sure most will point to Will Still’s stint as the issue. Of course in an ideal world that gamble would never have been taken, and I was against his appointment from the start. However, what’s worse than gambling once on your manager choice? Doing it a second time(!). If we had got in an old experienced manager instead of cone man we almost certainly would be in the playoffs now. If you look at the teams that made that obvious decision, they have the likes of Phil Parkinson, Frank Lampard, Kieran McKenna, Alex Neil etc. Whilst not directly Eckart’s fault, his appointing will be the reason we don’t get promoted to the premier league.

Looks like I’ve been proved right again. Should be starting for us from now on.

This is most Saints fans in a nutshell since Koeman left. There is a semblance of a fair point but patience is not going to change the inevitable. There are three main traits. One, comparing a shit manager to another shit manager and therefore concluding first shit manager isn’t as shit as the second shit manager so must be alright. Second, giving proven no mark managers/players endless chances if they are nice quiet types yet absolutely ripping on a talented footballer if he doesn’t perform at his usual high standards every game. Thirdly, ignoring the word pedigree. Every decision in life is a gamble but you can shorten the odds if you judge the pedigree of a player or manager. As far as football managers go, Eckart is the runt of the litter. Yet the attitude is let’s give him a go in arguably the most important season for the club since we were in Europe. Add the above ingredients up and the result is mediocrity. Hence the last few years at this club. We should all take a moment to actually let it sink in that the manager of our club has never managed or played the game. We simply cannot get comfortable with that being a thing. Ibrox would be on fire if that happened there.

Interesting stat around Matsuki. In the 14 games in all competitions he has featured, we have only lost once. Granted in most of these he was a late sub but I think he’s better than people give him credit. He reminds me of Stephen Davis. Tenacious and you don’t see a lot of what he does. He of course has also scored 2 goals unlike Fellows.

With arguably the best squad in the league. So those stats are appalling actually. You are ignoring the fact that our squad would win 50% of its games purely off the back of its own strength with no one telling them what to do. A good manager gets a squad of this strength to win every game. Look at Burnley, Leeds etc in the past. I honestly feel like I’m living in a twilight zone where I’m the only one that can see blatant and unprecedented failures at this club. No other club would hire someone that not only had never managed a professional man’s team before, but never played the game. You sometimes get ex players who get bumped up a bit too early and almost always have their inexperience exposed straight away but what club hires this guy???? I’ve said before the biggest issue at this club is the fans. I honestly think if Rasmus hired his mum as the next manager but she got a few results the fan base would get behind her.

Not been on for a while as couldn’t face the usual happy clapping because we have miraculously picked up some results recently. I’m not a glass half full type of person and of course some result were much welcome not to mention the Leicester cup game gave us a brief glimpse of what it’s like to support an exciting football team. But can any of you genuinely pin down a core discernible reason why we picked up those results? The truth is like the last brief purple patch we had when Todger took over it’s completely unexplainable. A wise man would admit we were promoted under Martin in spite of him, not because of him. If we scrape in this year the same will be true for Todger. I know some fans struggle to admit it, but we probably have one of top 3 squads in the league, if not the best squad of all. Our bench today was absolutely ridiculous for the championship. I reckon all other teams would have them in their starting 11s without question. After the experiment with Still the brief was clear, get an experienced old manager in to get the basics right. We gambled again but this time on a literal PE teacher. Let that sink in…… Nothing is going to change until we get an experienced manager. We lost today because of the no mark in charge.