goodymatt

I agree that there are unknowns as to how well he will do with a different squad and higher expectations. The same would apply for any manager taking a new role. At this moment, it isn’t clear what our strongest 11 is going to be. What is clear is that we have backed a manager with potential, a clear identity and consistent stats over 2 former clubs that suggest we will have more possession and shots on goal than our opponents. It’s now up to him to deliver on this opportunity and hopefully Mowbray/Wilcox/Ankerson give him better tools to do that than he has ever had before. If they do, we will find out if the lack of resources in the past is why his teams conceded more than they should have statistically or if it’s down to playing too much around his own box.

The stats that give me confidence is that his Swansea team were ranked very high for possession, progressive passes, shots and expected goals. They were also ranked very low for expected goals against and shots against. They clearly conceded way more than they should have based on that, so my hope is that with a better squad and more resources, Saints will perform closer to those stats and that should make for a strong season. Appreciate football is played on grass and we have so much change happening behind the scenes and on the pitch. Underlying stats aren’t everyone’s bag, but I can see logic. I would add that Russell Martin isn’t an appointment that I’m particularly excited about and I hd hoped we might be able to get a bigger name with experience in earning promotion but hopefully this works out, it needs to!

We signed 10 in the summer window didn’t we? We are going to lose a fair few players, I don’t think 8+ would be a surprise for incomings.

Saints do a calendar subscription: https://ics.ecal.com/ecal-sub/5d0394641aef001c3f8b457f/Southampton FC.ics Sky Sports do too: https://www.skysports.com/calendars/football/fixtures/teams/southampton?live=false

Already confirmed as Friday night on Sky

Reads like we are paying the lower fee but they will appeal?

You wouldn’t be best pleased after spending £110.

We read reports that Maresca was also on our list, if not our first choice. I appreciate Leicester have been more successful recently and had been in the top 8 the last 3 seasons before relegation. However, with our links to City, Wilcox and a big budget to build a team in your image, I struggle (even with SR taking some bizarre risks last season) to see why Maresca wouldn’t see us as a better fit for him. Jones aside we do often show more patience to managers than most too. This makes me wonder if Martin was always our first choice and we had just sounded our Maresca as an option. Unless the treble win has given him an ‘I’ve completed it’ vibe to try something new/change his mind, and by this time we had already moved on. Regardless, it will be very interesting to see how he does at Leicester. The Parma failure would be a worry, as was the Stoke experience for Nathan Jones. The only Saints announcement I can remember dragging on so long was Rudi Skacel!

Guess you can’t blame Swansea for chancing their hand at another £750k, we were technically a PL club when we approached Martin. Seems obvious we won’t pay a release clause until we are officially a championship club then? Mirrors the end of June comments from the ownership?

Is the latest Echo article (part 2) behind a paywall?

What was his assessment out of interest? I’m guessing that he wasn’t anywhere near ready to be a PL number 1?

I think McCarthy has an even worse save percentage since returning this season, which is some going! There were rumours he was off so maybe scope for a new keeper. Bazunu was Portsmouth’s player of the season in League One, maybe the championship is his level? He certainly has the ball playing ability to suit Martin’s possession style. Bazunu was out of his depth at PL level this season, hope it’s not destroyed his confidence. Made little sense to not keep playing him if he will be our number one next season.

If true, I’d expect it’s Piroe and Grimes? Surely Russell Martin would sign as our manager with our perceived budget whether they followed or not? I know he did this with MK Dons players when joining Swansea but to do it all at once is a bit unusual isn’t it? Koeman went back for Pelle, that one worked out well. More Pelle than Pied/Bree please.

We don’t think either party has had a change of mind then?

Interesting comment from SR is last night’s press releases that we will have a new manager in place ‘by the end of June’. Are we really a month away from appointing Russell Martin? Normally when Fabrizio Romano posts something is done. It doesn’t take a week for an announcement.

I’ll take back my earlier comment on Leicester’s statement being more encouraging for their fans. It’s very early days to judge the actions of the relegated teams owners. The same applies for the latest words coming out from Sports Republic. I did however appreciate them taking responsibility and trying to explain why (in their mind) they felt the decisions made last season were right at the time. The target of winning the league next season is the obvious one. We need to see how everything shapes up during the close season to have any belief. I think Nathan Jones is a better manager than Selles, he has achievements in his career that are respectable. Selles just copied Ralph and hoped for the best, getting the odd unexpected point against bigger teams who had no respect for us. Jones wasn’t able to get buy in from our ‘PL’ players, resulting in ‘what would you like to do’ tactics, press meltdowns and indecision. All of which happened at Stoke and that was all we needed to know to stay well clear! Im sure he’ll join a championship underdog again and do well. Both are horrendous mistakes and the next one has to be right.

Compare this to Sport Republic’s messaging post relegation and this just fills you with much more confidence that they will put this right. Meanwhile we are going to change pretty much every element of our club and playing team. Will that change help or hinder our chances of an immediate return? I’d bet on Leicester to return over Saints at the moment, sadly. I’m sure I’m also not the only one who is just a tad jealous of what they have achieved, being a similar size club to us, during their latest stint in the top division: PL, FA Cup, Euro semi final, even got those big screens in 😉

Fabrizio tweeted all was agreed and contract signed etc, he’s usually bang on the money. Perhaps we are waiting for the media stuff to be filmed or even just holding off the announcement until the season is over?

Assuming Leeds and Leicester are the teams to join us in the championship next season, it will be very interesting to see who they appoint and if they have promotion and PL experience. For Saints, I do feel it’s extremely important to get this appointment made ASAP to ensure alignment with recruitment, playing philosophy etc. So much work to do this summer, so little time to get it right. I’m not sure if it was just agent talk but Leicester’s rumoured interest in Martin might mean they are looking for the same sort of ‘project’ manager? Surely Potter isn’t managing them in the championship?!

Sorry to hear about your Dad, Rivers. They are the reason most of us support the team we do and sharing it with them is what it’s all about. There are more important things in life than football.

Martin also had a bottom five budget last season. Swansea faced the second least shots. I agree he is inexperienced and perhaps some tactical naivety has resulted in some of those additional goals conceded than expected. They should have had the 5th best defence (according to xGA) so the quality of players is also a big factor. I think I heard earlier 2 of their 3 keepers did their cruciates last season too, which is pretty unlucky! Signing nobody in January and losing Obafemi wouldn’t have helped. I found the snippet that this appointment was influenced by Wilcox encouraging. Like other posters I’m cautiously excited by the prospect of a clear identity, Saints dominating the ball and scoring lots of goals. Time will tell if defence will continue to be an achilles heel for both Martin and Saints. For now, I’m happy to back Martin, even though the appointment comes with an element of risk and the absence of a galvanising ‘big name’ or an overqualified CV.

Interesting that Fabrizio has highlighted Wilcox as being instrumental in this appointment. We also have an option for a 4th year, should he do well…

It’s been Fabrizio’d. Looks like a three year deal, to be announced this afternoon. You’d think we made the Selles statement today so that we can go ahead and announce it now. Might not be everyone’s choice but I like how early we have got this done, so much to do in a short space of time before the season starts.