saintant

Portuguese club C D Santa Clara were in turmoil when he went there much like we are now. They were relegated in 2023 with a very low points total having gone through 3 different managers. All their best players left. Vasco Matos came in with a rebuild job on his hands. Remarkably he got them promoted back to Liga 1 in his first season as champions of Liga 2. Previously their defence had leaked goals for fun (ring any bells?) and he turned them into the meanest rear guard in Liga 2 conceding only 19 goals in 34 matches. Oh and his favoured formation is 4-2-3-1 which is what we should be playing. But, perhaps the biggest factor is that he isn't Russell Martin 🙂 . It's unlikely we'd get him even if he was on the radar of the clowns running our club but my response to your question is....why not?

Yes please!

It's what most of the top sides adopt so maybe it's a formation that works - the clue is in the fact that Russell doesn't utilise it but the successful sides do.

This game is certain to fully demonstrate the true Christmas spirit of giving away gift-wrapped presents to one another.

Most of us are realistic enough to accept any new manager will be taking over the legacy left by Russell with a very low points total and slim to zero chance of avoiding relegation. If and when SR get round to appointing someone his job will be to steady the ship and make us harder to beat by cutting out the stupid suicidal play in and around our penalty area. He'll need to set us up in a solid shape where players know their jobs as opposed to the make-it-up-as-you-go-along RM playbook. Improving us in these areas should be easy because the current bar is set so low. He'll need to cut out the walking football and get us playing more vertically towards the opposition goal rather than away from it. Do this and results are bound to improve and we can hope to beat Derby's record and be in a better space come the end of the season and ready to have another tilt at promotion. The biggest fly in the ointment is the fact that our owners have shown themselves to be a clueless bunch and they will be the ones making the big decisions.

Karma for the little bitch Cucerella - slipped twice and given away two goals 🙂

Russell is conning us and SR.

Russell's qualifications in the prem based on his tactics and results so far only seem to impress SR. I can't believe Dragan continues to allow this charlatan to manage a football club that he's put a lot of money into for little or no return.

So here we are, 7 weeks after the Leicester game and they still can't find someone to replace Russell. Not looking hard enough.

Yeah Semmens sold us down the river that's for sure.

The fitness level is not easy to rectify during the season when games are coming thick and fast - it might be possible to make some improvement but the real hard yards have to be put in pre-season and it increasingly seems our coaches didn't work the players hard enough or in the right way. If you look at Strachan's time here we were among the fittest teams around but all the heavy lifting took place pre-season.

There is always a viable replacement for any club that decides to sack its manager as history proves time and time again. Up and coming managers are out there including ones who would jump at the chance to come here even in our current predicament. The obvious difficult part is identifying them and SR do not have a good track record but we live in hope that lessons are being learned.

Outed 🙂

Who is Jordan Sibley? Assuming it's Fabrice29?

Who is JTaylor?

I agree. In fact, for his own CV and his legacy at Southampton FC he'd have been better served if the club had thanked him for getting us promoted and politely informed him we'd decided to part company and would be appointing someone else to lead us into the Premier League. As it stands he is wrecking much, if not all, of the kudos he earned last season and not doing his future career prospects a whole lot of good by racking up a series of unwanted records.

I think most of us on here could own Russell in a match - it doesn't require much footballing nous - just set the press as we try to play out from the back and wait for the inevitable howlers, rinse and repeat. It's the easiest opposition team talk in football when RM is in charge as is being proved week after week.

Clearly you watched a different game to Russell judging by his after-match comments.

Quite clearly results and performances prove they are deluded - and I care not whether they are players, part of the SR set-up or his fellow coaches.

Thanks for turning our club into a laughing stock Russell. Glad you're enjoying it because 99% of the fan base are hating it.

'Trust that it'll turn' - it might but not under the chief snake oil salesman.

I reckon you could be right although he does criticise the team so maybe not 🙂

If the fans are responsible for goals conceded Russell perhaps you'll share some of your massive salary with them - you certainly aren't doing much to earn it.

Especially when said training is being run by Russell Martin.

He's clearly getting rattled. How dare the fans express disapproval at Lumley kicking long - can't they see all the success we have from playing it short to feet from the back? Arrogance personified but he's beginning to show more and more signs that he knows he's way out of his depth. He just can't help himself because of his ego.