Sheaf Saint

I wondered that but then who is playing RWB? No obvious candidates in the lineup.

Well at least Moi has finally been dropped.

And yet they are still sat in 9th, only 2 points outside the playoff places. If he can get a team to grind out results and be comfortably top half despite a lack of firepower up front, surely that is exactly what we need given the current limitations of our squad?

I think he has qualities, which RA and the board obviously admire. As to having quality - in the sense you are asking - that remains to be seen.

Yeah that was my take on it. He was choosing his words carefully because nothing has been confirmed yet, so the shoulder shrugging thing was just a way of showing that he doesn't know what's happening and doesn't want to commit to saying anything that might come back and bite him if he ends up staying there. Nothing to be concerned about IMO. He's obviously ambitious, saying he wants to manage in the PL either with Luton or with another club, which is a good sign IMO because he's obviously very driven. I just think he was being cautious not to be disrespectful to his current employers, and really there is nothing to read into here because he was put on the spot by the interviewer and obviously tried hard not to say anything that could be misconstrued either by either set of fans.

And Brentford wouldn't have appointed Thomas Frank either. Look how that's turned out for them. Now, who was it that made that decision again? 🤔

Of course it's a bit different (I don't work for a local council BTW), but the principle is still the same. Respect has to be earned. I would rather we had a conscientious manager who works hard to earn the respect of the players than an arrogant one who assumes he will get it just because of his playing reputation. From what little I have read about Jones, he appears to be the former.

Think we're just going to have to agree to disagree on this. Out of interest though - what makes you assume Jones wouldn't command respect just because he hasn't played or managed (so far) at the top level? Plenty of successful football managers have had less than stellar playing careers, and simply being a good player doesn't mean you will make a good manager. I have an awful lot of respect for my manager at work, but he's never done my job and has no technical understanding of it whatsoever. What makes him effective and able to command respect is his ability to communicate and motivate people. I've also worked for many people in the past who have been promoted to management positions just because they were good at doing the hands-on work, and who turned out to be awful managers because it's an entirely different skill.

Well he apparently moves in mysterious ways. What concerns me is when we lose and NJ has the easy get-out of just claiming it's all part of God's plan.

Like I said, I don't know enough about Jones to judge myself, but SR have clearly done their homework on him and see something in his approach to man-management that makes them believe he would be a good fit. I would much rather they did that than spunk a load of money making a knee-jerk 'big name' appointment just to appease a few fans. Those kind of appointments never end well. Everybody has to start somewhere. Just because Jones hasn't yet proven himself in the PL doesn't mean he isn't capable. It's a gamble, I agree, but it's one that could pay dividends. I just don't see any way that Gerrard would actually be any better for us right now.

That makes no sense whatsoever. You would rather take a manager that has proven he can't manage in the PL (and probably wouldn't want the job anyway because little old Southampton are below his station) over one who hasn't yet had that chance? I know very little about Nathan Jones, but if SR really have been watching him for a while and have approached him before then they obviously see something in his skillset that makes them think he would be a good fit for the club's philosophy. Give me that over a failed PL manager with an over-inflated ego who has thus far traded solely on his playing reputation and would ditch us for a bigger club at the very first opportunity any day. Just because he's never managed in the PL before doesn't automatically make him a worse option.

Gerrard? Are you serious? He's an appalling manager who has only been given jobs purely because of his reputation as a player. He was a hopeless failure with Villa and was rightly sacked. What on Earth makes you think he would be decent for us?

There was a rumour recently that we had more than one deal lined up to bring in attacking players towards the end of the window and SR had sanctioned the transfers but Semmens blew them at the last minute by trying to haggle on the agreed fees. No idea if it's true or not, and can't remember who posted it, but it seems plausible. We know that large bids were placed fir Delap and Gakpo, and there's simply not a chance that anybody in the upper echelons of the club looked at our attacking options in late August and thought "they will do" and actually chose to go into the season so woefully short of firepower.

So he blamed God for him giving away a penalty in the playoffs?

Where has this Nathan Jones rumour come from exactly? I'm wondering if Ankersen is actually looking to try and replicate the success Brentford have had by promoting from within and is considering giving the job full time to Selles. Would be a massive gamble, but I expect all the Brentford fans said the same about Frank when he was given the top job and that has worked out well for them.

https://www.southamptonfc.com/news/2022-11-07/southampton-football-club-part-company-with-ralph-hasenhuttl-statement Southampton Football Club can confirm it has parted company with Men’s First Team Manager Ralph Hasenhüttl. First Team Assistant Coach Richard Kitzbichler has also today left the club. Hasenhüttl, who was appointed in December 2018, departs having made a significant contribution to the club, overseeing some memorable results and also playing a key role in the development of our club infrastructure, identity and playing squad. However, we now believe it is an appropriate time to make a change. Everyone involved with the club would like to express their sincere thanks to Ralph for all of his efforts, as well as the unwavering commitment he has shown throughout his time as manager. First Team Lead Coach Rubén Sellés will take charge of the side on an interim basis for our game on Wednesday night. The club will be announcing a permanent replacement in due course.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/football/63539451 He's gone.

I doubt they would care. PL football is a multi-billion pound, cut-throat industry. Nobody goes into management in that environment under any illusions that they will be treated fairly and equitably if things don't go well. At the moment, all we have is rumours in the press. the fact is that nobody (on this forum or anywhere else) actually knows what is going on behind the scenes, so to suggest that SR's behaviour is unsavoury is just pure speculation at this point.

His view was blocked by AMN. Oh FFS. 3-0 now. Utter fucking garbage from us again. Newcastle showing the kinf of finishing quality we completely lack.

Yep.

Big chance for Moi to equalise. Should have done better really. Overall it's not been too bad a performance. Certainly a big improvement on last week's first half display at Palace anyway.

How the fuck is that not a foul on Che?

I think he just slipped. That wasn't intentional.

Will have to be AMN. Hopefully Lavia is fit enough to come on in his place in CM.

She makes Cruella Braverman look moderate!