Sheaf Saint

Don't forget the world class catering and radio station.

Over the phone? 🤔

Or, just to be certain, we should get the guys from Lead By Donkeys to project it onto the front of SMS.

Two were down to individual skill, one was a howler from the opposition keeper and another looked suspiciously offside. So, again, what in the overall performances stood out for you as being better than what we could have done under Still?

I said in the performances.

And did you see us under Tonda? Genuine question - what did you see in the performances of those two games to make you think he's a better manager? Because from what I saw we were every bit as bad as we were at any point under Still.

The only senior players who were here for the majority of Ralph's tenure (discounting those who signed in the summer before he was sacked) are, by my reckoning, Stephens and McCarthy. And if reappointing him hastens their exit because they don't like him then I'm all in favour of that.

They do. We don't.

I'd say that's infinitely more likely. When Frank was promoted from within at Brentford, he was simply following an established model that had already brought them success and he brought continuity to that. The people pointing to that example as evidence that it might work with Eckert appear to be ignoring the fact that what we need right now is the opposite of continuity from the previous setup, otherwise sacking Still was just a pointless, knee-jerk reaction. We need someone to come in and make an instant positive change to our playing style and coaching setup, and Eckert is absolutely not that person, regardless of what potential he might have.

And their dog is called TED! That can't be a coincidence 🤔

No, I'm assuming incompetence based on the extensive evidence of their total mismanagement of the club over the best part of four years. In case you haven't been paying attention, this "greatest era in our history" that you promised us has still yet to materialise. Or was it a typo and you actually meant to say greatest error in our history?

I'm not doubting you Nolan, I'm sure you are passing this on in good faith. In other circumstances I would say this sounds way too ridiculous to be true. No competent owners would ever allow this kind of thing to influence such a critical decision. But therein lies the problem. Anything is possible with these clowns in charge.

Wait, are you suggesting that Russia could do / have done much more with the estimated £71bn we will spend on F-35s over their lifetime? OK, point taken.

OK even ignoring the point that has been raised multiple times already about conducting interviews remotely, didn't he say that he wanted to come back to the UK to support his partner through serious illness? From a Saints perspective, it would be great if Norwich did appoint him now. Not only would it massively reduce our liability to pay up his contract, we haven't played them yet home or away (in the league anyway) so it would be a guaranteed 6 points for us because all we would have to do is put numbers in midfield.

And in both games he made absolute howlers that lead to goals... failing to stop a shot from an acute angle that went in the middle of the goal for Stoke's second, and then flapping at a simple catch and parrying it straight to a Hull forward for their first. And in the two games we won last week with him on the pitch, he still managed to gift goals to the opponents. The only difference was that, unlike against Stoke and Hull, the attacking players did their jobs this time so he got away with it. Simply pointing to the number of points we've got when he's been playing as evidence that he's the better keeper is just absurd.

We need someone who will get the team playing with a bit more Jazz.

Except he did. A couple of weeks later at Norwich... https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkxk9a9OQRgBPYSLuWXbpfBEVd8z-S3dXwk?si=yvIiWA6Z28taiZfR There is no version of reality in which Bazunu is a better shot stopper than McCarthy.

OK I respect the fact that you have a different view, but I also have to firmly disagree with you. Giving another ten games to a young coach with no experience of ever managing a first team in the vain hope that he might turn out to be OK would be just insanity in our current situation - doing the same thing again and expecting a different result.

In a sample size of two, against two of the worst teams we will face all season, where we rode our luck and only really played anything even resembling decent football for one half against the basket-case bottom team and relied on them having an emergency loan keeper who is even worse than ours to give us the lead. I've not seen a single shred of evidence to suggest that Eckert would be any improvement at all on Still. We are in the mess we are in because SR fucked up by appointing a young, inexperienced manager in the summer who was never the right person to steady the ship after the total catastrophe of last season, and Eckert has even less experience (none at all at first team level, let alone in the Championship). Giving him the job would be beyond negligent, and frankly I am gobsmacked that we have any fans who actually think it's not the worst idea.

Yep. And this was long before SR got their grubby hands on the club and diluted that ambition even further.

I'd definitely have David Hirst up front, for the contribution versus reputation/expectation factor.

It would also be foolish to appoint the wrong person just for the sake of getting them in instantly. If waiting a while longer means we get a much better candidate in post (far from certain where SR are concerned, I acknowledge) then that is surely a better option.

Difficult to judge because we pretty much surrendered the midfield in the second half, but he looked tidy enough on the ball. Certainly didn't do anything obviously bad.

Yep, the amount of times I've seen the "he was unsighted" defence trotted out for him is just ridiculous. It's something that used to be used once in a blue moon, but with Baz it's multiple times per season. There's obviously a good reason for that other than just really bad luck.