Resident ITK’s

I agree. You can't keep or sack a manager on the basis of one game at a time.

I'm pretty sure they know he's gotta go,but when is the tricky bit. Are we better off with no manager right now? Could Davis step up? Who could come in? All has to be considered I suppose. If we get someone in would it be the person we want long term, if not how do we get rid of them.

We are perilously close to the time when it won't make any difference though. Our only saving grace is that we are not adrift. A win or two and the pressure is on someone else.

Bring back Hoddle short term or WGS. I am sure Hoddle would help us out.

If we lose he's definitely gone, if we draw it'll be touch and go (depends on the manner of defeat) if he wins he'll be here till the end of the season (or the next crisis).

 

Sounds like a successor has already been found if he does go.

Bet we'll bloody draw and they'll continue to dither.

So best case is a win.

Second best is a defeat (MoPe gone!)

Worst is a draw.

You know what's going to happen now, we're going to be pummelled by WBA for 90mins and we somehow sneak a 90th min OG to win it...

If we lose he's definitely gone, if we draw it'll be touch and go (depends on the manner of defeat) if he wins he'll be here till the end of the season (or the next crisis).

 

Sounds like a successor has already been found if he does go.

Well, this is about as decisive as it gets from our board, i.e. not very!

I think he should go whatever happens tomorrow and I certainly think it's daft if we let him plod on just because we scrape a narrow win/draw against the bottom club!!

So best case is a win.

Second best is a defeat (MoPe gone!)

Worst is a draw.

Personally reckon that the best case is a loss ... That way surely the clown MoPe will be dust?!

So best case is a win.

Second best is a defeat (MoPe gone!)

Worst is a draw.

 

Personally reckon that the best case is a loss ... That way surely the clown MoPe will be dust?!

And if we get a new guy in and results don't change...?

You know what's going to happen now, we're going to be pummelled by WBA for 90mins and we somehow sneak a 90th min OG to win it...

Or a last kick flukey eqaualiser and then have to hear all about our fighting spirit.

And if we get a new guy in and results don't change...?

I think even if we get rid, we are done. Too late.

Saying that, worse teams than us have escaped from far worse positions. Sunderland springs to mind. Many times.... Plus past iterations of ourselves

This is what I've had sent to me verbatim.

"All the gossip today is who is going to be your new manager next week. Agents are all over it. Talk is the decision has already been made. See you Sunday unless you're still fuming after you lose tomorrow. "

Nope cause i don't know myself! Worth adding that it sounds like the board still don't actually want to get rid of him, this is more of a last chance salon business

WGS AND Sammy Lee??

Utterly barmy. How could anyone not want to get rid of him at this point? He's our least successful manager of all time...

FFS. I'll type it out. 'Kin cut and paste boll_oxs.

"All the gossip today is about who your new manager is going to be next week. Agents are all over it. Talk is that the decision has already been made. See you Sunday unless your still fuming after you lose tomorrow :D".

That's all I've been sent. I know Eric checked his end after I messaged him to see if he could corroborate any of it and it appears he can.

Utterly barmy. How could anyone not want to get rid of him at this point? He's our least successful manager of all time...

I hear the same line again and again, the players like him and the board like him. I'd normally be sceptical but i've heard so much it has to be true, players are absolutely bloody useless at keeping secrets and dissent and fallings out come out pretty damn quickly!

I hear the same line again and again, the players like him and the board like him. I'd normally be sceptical but i've heard so much it has to be true, players are absolutely bloody useless at keeping secrets and dissent and fallings out come out pretty damn quickly!

Players liked Wigley & Gray too. Didn't make them good managers.

If tomorrow is Au Revoir for MP, honestly think it will be Hughes in firing line! We rejected Silva before he took Watford job, as he was adamant he made all decisions, didn't sit well with board! Hughes more solid and more a yes man I would say! Only my opinion, but regardless of everything, I would still take a Saints win tomorrow 100%! If players do like MP, time to bloody well show it on pitch

FFS. I'll type it out. 'Kin cut and paste boll_oxs.

 

"All the gossip today is about who your new manager is going to be next week. Agents are all over it. Talk is that the decision has already been made. See you Sunday unless your still fuming after you lose tomorrow :D".

 

That's all I've been sent. I know Eric checked his end after I messaged him to see if he could corroborate any of it and it appears he can.

Thanks for the update.

Bound to be a name leaked in the press over the weekend.

I hear the same line again and again, the players like him and the board like him. I'd normally be sceptical but i've heard so much it has to be true, players are absolutely bloody useless at keeping secrets and dissent and fallings out come out pretty damn quickly!

The problem with the term “In The Knows”, is that it presupposes somebody in the clubs management has a clue what they are doing.

If we lose he's definitely gone, if we draw it'll be touch and go (depends on the manner of defeat) if he wins he'll be here till the end of the season (or the next crisis).

 

Sounds like a successor has already been found if he does go.

Appreciate the update!

Wow. Our board really are ruthless and decisive.

Appreciate the update!

 

Wow. Our board really are ruthless and decisive.

Dithering would be a more reflective description.

If they are that close they should have pulled the trigger already.

Utterly bizarre.

Seems to me they are looking for any excuse to keep him on and on - if we get a point tomorrow I don't think we'll sack.

Even if we lose to a "unlucky" thing - disputed penalty, last minute goal - I think Les will decide to cling on to the pr ick. What's four or five more last chances between friends.

Thanks, as usual to VFTT - proper info amongst the delusionals/fantacists.

Dithering would be a more reflective description.

It's been a season of Dithering.

Starting with the delay of sacking Claude.

I hear the same line again and again, the players like him and the board like him. I'd normally be sceptical but i've heard so much it has to be true, players are absolutely bloody useless at keeping secrets and dissent and fallings out come out pretty damn quickly!

Presumably because they value his capabilites as a coach and manager, and not because he brings cakes in every week and smiles nicely at people?

So when do WE get to see the qualities that make him so liked? Or maybe he is just a damned nice bloke, and getting rid would feel like kicking a kitten?

I think four points were earmarked for this week and in theory that can still happen.

Its my view that following the players umbrage with Claude Puel and thus the club removing it him at cost, theyre unwilling to simply rollover and do the same again.

Many of the players are lost and disillusioned with Pellegrino and assistants.

There is no collective bond with players and the manager and the departure of Eric Black actually made the situation worse.

I believe he will go if we do not win tomorrow but it is not the straightforward decision so many think.

There are arguments for him staying and I respect those who think he should.

There is the stability argument. It is almost inevitable that teams that frequently change their manager will fail eventually. That makes the decision high risk either way. There are impact managers who can do a good job in the short term to keep us up but are not so good long term. It would not be easy to change again in the summer if they kept us up.

Secondly they see him every day not just on match days and they think he is a good coach.

Thirdly we are not cut adrift at the bottom and a few good results would see us in the top half.

Against this they have been extremely patient (for modern times) hoping or expecting that the tide would turn and despite a few signs that it might on occasion it hasn't. Football is full of good coaches that haven't been able to get results. Dressing rooms are all different and what motivates one may not motivate another. Remember Clough at Leeds.

Also to do nothing looks like neglect.

Therefore whilst I was in the camp of giving him more time I now believe reluctantly that time has come.

If the board pull the trigger then they are going to have to make Les appoint someone who is a strong character who will tell him to get his own staff in, be able to criticise the academy’s lack of production under Les and Martin Hunter’s direction, be stronger in making sure Les is on top of transfers earlier and not dithering like in this and last January’s window etc. Pellegrino hasn’t worked and neither did Puel in our system. Ronald Koeman and Pochettino were both powerful enough to operate in their own way and with Poch, he was allowed to bring in his own staff (goalkeeper coach to fitness coach) to make his methods work. So in my opinion, when we have a strong manager or one who has his own staff, things are better. When we have a manager who is not strong or able to appoint his own people, it isn’t as good. Maybe the dream model created by Les (who has very little club football experience compared with his work in the FA - we all know how useful that organisation is) and a corporate board just doesn’t work for a club in the Premier League. Maybe time to get back to basics and try not to reinvent something that has been working reasonably well for 100 plus years and clubs who had strong managers in near absolute control of first team matters, input into the academy/apprenticeships etc. like Fergie, Clough and so on.

Maybe the dream model created by Les (who has very little club football experience compared with his work in the FA.

Hmmmm not sure about that. Worked with Curbishley at Charlton when they were the envy of smaller top flight clubs including us for ten years. Always regarded as the brains behind that. Just couldn’t cut it as no1. Interestingly Charlton eventuallly ran out of steam progressing in a similar way we seem to be doing. At least they had the luxury of just one manager.

If we lose tomorrow and he goes are we really going to attract someone who will get us out of this mess.

We are in deep trouble and need a massive change in results to stay up.

Lots of away games coming up that we need to get some wins from and personally I don’t see anyone who I would be happy to have as manager.

The board have backed themselves into a corner by leaving it so long and will have to appoint someone they probably wouldn’t normally consider ( maybe that’s a good thing)

Having travelled 350 miles to watch the Brighton game I was fuming in the pub before the game with his team selection, no one could quite believe it.

I can’t bring myself to want us to lose today as 3 points is vital but this season shows it’s highly unlikely we will win so will look forward to seeing who the grand master appoints next week

If we lose tomorrow and he goes are we really going to attract someone who will get us out of this mess.

We are in deep trouble and need a massive change in results to stay up.

Lots of away games coming up that we need to get some wins from and personally I don’t see anyone who I would be happy to have as manager.

The board have backed themselves into a corner by leaving it so long and will have to appoint someone they probably wouldn’t normally consider ( maybe that’s a good thing)

Having travelled 350 miles to watch the Brighton game I was fuming in the pub before the game with his team selection, no one could quite believe it.

I can’t bring myself to want us to lose today as 3 points is vital but this season shows it’s highly unlikely we will win so will look forward to seeing who the grand master appoints next week

Hmmmm not sure about that. Worked with Curbishley at Charlton when they were the envy of smaller top flight clubs including us for ten years. Always regarded as the brains behind that. Just couldn’t cut it as no1. Interestingly Charlton eventuallly ran out of steam progressing in a similar way we seem to be doing. At least they had the luxury of just one manager.

I'm very sure about that, as are my long-suffering Charlton supporting inlaws - they see Reed at Charlton as a peripheral figure in his first stint at the club, a Branfoot/Redknapp in the second - he is generally despised. When he arrived at Saints I was forewarned he was a 'self-interested chancer'.

For perspective, Curbishley managed Charlton for fifteen years, starting in 1991, Reed replaced Steve Gritt as AC's assistant in 1995 and left in 1998 (two and a half years, and wasn't at Charlton in the Prem with AC during the salad days), Charlton under Curbishley had eight decent seasons in the Prem, and he was touted to manage Liverpool and England the season before choosing West Ham. Reed's second spell at Charlton started in Aug 2006 as Dowie's assistant, and when ID was sacked in the November, Reed was promoted as a caretaker manager and lasted six weeks - this was the disastrous spell when he was described in the media as 'clueless' and by fans 'the worst manager of all time'.

His real talent is as a salesman, and a revisionist historian.

After those snippets from ericb, VFTT and others we’re in a win win situation. We win, well that’s 3 points thank you, we don’t win then MoPe is gone. (I try to see the positive in all situations - this season has certainly tested me )

After those snippets from ericb, VFTT and others we’re in a win win situation. We win, well that’s 3 points thank you, we don’t win then MoPe is gone. (I try to see the positive in all situations - this season has certainly tested me )

We will draw and he will stay you can almost guarantee it!

But at least we would have drawn showing improvement and being unlucky not to have scored a second, and the following game will be massive for us...... blah blah blah.

But at least we would have drawn showing improvement and being unlucky not to have scored a second, and the following game will be massive for us...... blah blah blah.

I think four points were earmarked for this week and in theory that can still happen.

 

Its my view that following the players umbrage with Claude Puel and thus the club removing it him at cost, theyre unwilling to simply rollover and do the same again.

 

Many of the players are lost and disillusioned with Pellegrino and assistants.

 

There is no collective bond with players and the manager and the departure of Eric Black actually made the situation worse.

I can verify this bit is correct.

incredible how many chances he's had. Having said that, 2 wins could turn our season round and buy him some more time.

I still recall Alan Smith on coms before the Spurs game at Wembley saying MP has not had time to show us what he's about or to impose his style of play. He'd had half a ****ing season mate.

I believe any of the names mentioned (Hughes, Bilic, Silva) could get us out of this mess. The problem with Pellegrino is he needs to win at least five more games, which is difficult to see.

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I can verify this bit is correct.

Given that I believe you are 'very close' to Sam McQueen, then this is pretty telling now. Maybe they don't 'hate him', but he's certainly not inspiring anyone right now. (or ever has)

incredible how many chances he's had. Having said that, 2 wins could turn our season round and buy him some more time.

 

I still recall Alan Smith on coms before the Spurs game at Wembley saying MP has not had time to show us what he's about or to impose his style of play. He'd had half a ****ing season mate.

 

I believe any of the names mentioned (Hughes, Bilic, Silva) could get us out of this mess. The problem with Pellegrino is he needs to win at least five more games, which is difficult to see.

 

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This must get five more wins stuff is just nonsense - 2 wins, 8 draws, 3 defeats and we'd stay up imo.

So we have found a manager to replace MP who is prepared to wait and see if he wins at West Brom and if he does then he will wait until he messes up again?

Doesn't sound likely to me, unless it's some really useless out of work manager desperate for a way back into the game?

Or is it we have a target manager, like we had Walcott etc as targets, during the window but if they find a better offer then they will be off there anyway?

Doesn't sound likely to me, unless it's some really useless out of work manager desperate for a way back into the game?

Sounds like Hughes or Bilic.

hughes could probably sort us out given his many years experience in the prem - could be a nice little six month earner for him too.

and a former player so he might give a little bit of a sh1t

Sounds like Hughes or Bilic.

Not useless though are they. Both managers with International & Prem experience. Both finished 8th & 9th respectively with similar sized clubs.

Given that I believe you are 'very close' to Sam McQueen, then this is pretty telling now. Maybe they don't 'hate him', but he's certainly not inspiring anyone right now. (or ever has)

Can't say I'm surprised. If we just look at MP's role in isolation of purely developing young players, short of playing Obafemi out of necessity, he's done f*ck all at developing any players.

Not useless though are they. Both managers with International & Prem experience. Both finished 8th & 9th respectively with similar sized clubs.

Both have had a lot of critism regarding style..Bilic too soft, Hughes aloof from the players? Don't know if it's true but I suppose beggars can't be choosers!

A lot would depend on their severance package...lots apparent don't get a single payment they continue to be paid until they find another job...in that case a 6 month deal wouldn't be particularily appealing?

could you imagine Reed doing one of his vids telling us that Billic has been on our radar for a number of years and the information pack on him is detailed and impressive as we hope to finish in single digits up the league this season

Both have had a lot of critism regarding style..Bilic too soft, Hughes aloof from the players? Don't know if it's true but I suppose beggars can't be choosers!

 

A lot would depend on their severance package...lots apparent don't get a single payment they continue to be paid until they find another job...in that case a 6 month deal wouldn't be particularily appealing?

Either Hughes or Bilic could and would get a tune out of this squad

I'd prefer Bilic over Hughes personally.

Hughes seems to have links with agents that have decent players on their books which could "enable" some decent signings. I'm not convinced he is a saints style manager though as he'll want more control than we let our managers have.

Personally I would expect another left field choice.

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