Nathan Jones

[Dusic]

Nobody wanted Jones but we have him and clearly aren't going to make another change anytime soon.

Jones himself has said, this team hasnt won many games or kept any clean sheets for ages.

He also has no Lavia, a returning KWP and all the other problems Ralph had because its exactly the same set of players that weren't playing well causing him to get fired.

Yes I expected us to be miles better than we were yesterday but I certainly expected Brighton to beat us as they are just a much better team.

He need to get an improvrment immediately if we are to have any chance of staying up, but equally the club need to pull their finger out and get us some better players if we really want to be a PL team next season.

It might be a difficult window and a risk of overpaying etc. That is a fair comment if you are 11th and don't desperately need anything in particular. We are not in this situation and therefore will absolutely need to take the risk of doing major business in January. Its that simple.

Edited 27 December, 2022 by Dusic

[John B]

17 minutes ago, Miltonaggro said:

I think the position of a majority of Saints support in the aftermath of RH being sacked was that we had a young side with promise, but with clear limitations and gaps in terms of quality.  RH was out of ideas and there was a need to refresh and recharge.  Happens in football and business and Ralph had a good innings.  We weren't adrift and with the right appointment just prior to the world cup break there was a cause for optimism.  Selles taking charge against Liverpool did OK.  Plenty of time for finding feet and setting up the side during the extended break (almost a close season), with the kindest run of fixtures in the calendar in December / January and a transfer window to come.  I know it's only two games, but fucking hell we look like an absolute nightmare under NJ, nothing against the man, but looks like a fish up a tree at this level!  For what it's worth I don't think that Sport Republic have any appetite whatsoever for admitting error or incompetence so it's going to play out.  But as matters progress and tensions rise they will dress this up as part of their visionary masterplan, whilst throwing Nathan Jones to the dogs and likely flushing Saints down the shitter!  

Ralph was an ideal fit for Saints and he proved that during his time here

 

He did not run out of ideas as he constantly tried different combinations he was undone and so will Jones be a lack of investment in quality PL

 

It is unsurprising we find ourselves at the bottom of the PL with the squad we have now if we had replacements PEH Bertrand Forster Redmond Romeu Ings  playing  their best we no doubt be in a better position as well as Armstrong JWP and KWP playing as they once did

[Hodgey]

It’s not the way I would have gone, and I think we will go down, maybe a top manager could have kept us up. But firing him and his staff now and appointing a Dyke doesn’t make much sense. I’d love Wood here but he’s playing well for Newcastle so even with his ex manager he isn’t coming.

I still think he would be a success in rebuilding when we go down, but I am worried that by then he may be past the point of no return from the fans and players.
If you believe the rumours (and he was linked before) Jones has clearly been a target for a while. There MUST be a plan here, or the whole thing is beyond madness and makes no sense. So SR have to enact and communicate that plan. Jones has to be backed in this and the next window, but the board need to be clear with Jones that fans need to see a plan quickly. If that means he had to drop star players, fine, sell disruptive players, fine, buy a big cf lump from the championship fine. 
Then there are the players, again SR need to quickly make a decision here. Can Jones win most of them round ? What support does he need to do so ?. 
What a mess SR have made of this so far. The priority has to be a clear plan / style that the players and fans can understand. You can’t try 5 different tactics in one match, that reeks of desperation and a lack of faith. 
I do see why people want him out. I resigned myself to relegation a while back as I simply think our players aren’t good enough and SR strategy was deeply flawed, so I’m looking at how we quickly bounce back rather than stay up (which would be a massive bonus). Top quality managers won’t come to a club looking like relegation certs, who have just fired someone after 2 games. We had that chance before but chose Jones.
 

[Miltonaggro]

5 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

Saints in general are stuck in that period, we thought we'd cracked it as a club. Reality is that we just had a period of time where we got a bit lucky on a few fronts, similar to the time Brentford and Brighton are enjoying now. Not sustainable in any means for clubs of our size without substantial investment to stay there.

I think in this cycle in the top flight, it was a positive experience under Adkins, Pochettino and Koeman as we seemed to have some momentum and a plan.  If you support a provincial club you are always going to be making up the numbers most of the time I suppose, despite any misplaced pride.    

[Ralph Fastenbüttl]

14 hours ago, CB Fry said:

He was recruited to keep us up. The fan base didn't want him then, don't want him now and if he fails to keep us up the fanbase atmosphere will be toxic.

There is no scenario where he gets to "rebuild the club" or whatever if he takes us down. He will be hounded out, he will go. 

I agree in that I cannot see a scenario where if we go down under Jones, the atmosphere is calm enough for him to be able to stay. The fans will be in revolt and I think his sacking would be forced, regardless of any plans SR may or may not have.

[Lord Duckhunter]

18 minutes ago, Hodgey said:

But firing him and his staff now and appointing a Dyke doesn’t make much sense. 
 

I’ve seen Emma Hayes  mentioned by the odd one or two, but I agree,  now is not the time. 

[Lord Duckhunter]

There’s two obvious questions here.

1. Should Ralph have been sacked? Absolutely, he should have been. He should have gone in the summer and the fact they minced around sacking his back room staff should have rang alarm bells.

Secondly, is Jones the man to replace him? From the first couple of games, it doesn’t look like it. It’s too early to judge whether he will keep us up, but clearly you can judge the bloke on 2 games, and they’ve been fuck8ng woeful. Ralph ball at its worse. I didn’t particularly notice the alleged “more direct” approach yesterday, apart from the occasional longer straight ball from the back (we hit long diagonals many times under Ralph). The disappointment for me was that I was expecting a significant decision, people make the comparison with Branfoot, but Branfoot made decisions. This bloke seemed to just play Ralph ball. Personally, I’d have liked him to do something to impose himself. Drop the keeper, change the skipper. It doesn’t need to be done aggressively or damagingly, “we want James to concentrate on his game”, “he’s going to be a great keeper, but needs taking out of the firing line”. Something that’ll show he’s not prepared to let the weak mentality continue. I guess the nearest he got to it was playing Lyanco, but he’s clearly the weakest Centre half. 
 

What I’m hoping is he doesn’t buy into the Saints way, insists on a couple of old heads (think Gary Cahill when he left Chelsea as an example). A couple of leaders, a couple of pirates to upset a few. How many fouls did we make yesterday, Brighton we’re taking the piss and we just took it. If Jones thinks he can play a slightly different version of Ralph ball he’s dead already. Fuck this pressing shite. Become hard to beat, kick and fight, and then hope we can get someone in that can score a dozen goals. Anything else and we’re fucked and he’d have blown his big chance.

Graham Taylor at England. Wanted to play like big Jacks Ireland but never quite went through with it, ended up caught between 2 stools instead of being himself. Jones needs to impose his style, his tactics and live or die by the consequences. 

Edited 27 December, 2022 by Lord Duckhunter

[Midfield_General]

4 hours ago, Turkish said:

An uphill wank, but not impossible

[CB Fry]

2 hours ago, Bad Wolf said:

I know of several lawyers who may disagree with that.

Let me know when one of those lawyers is prepared to argue that supporters of a Premier League football team have some kind of contractual obligation to the current manager of the first team.

[Lee On Solent Saint]

35 minutes ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

There’s two obvious questions here.

1. Should Ralph have been sacked? Absolutely, he should have been. He should have gone in the summer and the fact they minced around sacking his back room staff should have rang alarm bells.

Secondly, is Jones the man to replace him? From the first couple of games, it doesn’t look like it. It’s too early to judge whether he will keep us up, but clearly you can judge the bloke on 2 games, and they’ve been fuck8ng woeful. Ralph ball at its worse. I didn’t particularly notice the alleged “more direct” approach yesterday, apart from the occasional longer straight ball from the back (we hit long diagonals many times under Ralph). The disappointment for me was that I was expecting a significant decision, people make the comparison with Branfoot, but Branfoot made decisions. This bloke seemed to just play Ralph ball. Personally, I’d have liked him to do something to impose himself. Drop the keeper, change the skipper. It doesn’t need to be done aggressively or damagingly, “we want James to concentrate on his game”, “he’s going to be a great keeper, but needs taking out of the firing line”. Something that’ll show he’s not prepared to let the weak mentality continue. I guess the nearest he got to it was playing Lyanco, but he’s clearly the weakest Centre half. 
 

What I’m hoping is he doesn’t buy into the Saints way, insists on a couple of old heads (think Gary Cahill when he left Chelsea as an example). A couple of leaders, a couple of pirates to upset a few. How many fouls did we make yesterday, Brighton we’re taking the piss and we just took it. If Jones thinks he can play a slightly different version of Ralph ball he’s dead already. Fuck this pressing shite. Become hard to beat, kick and fight, and then hope we can get someone in that can score a dozen goals. Anything else and we’re fucked and he’d have blown his big chance.

Graham Taylor at England. Wanted to play like big Jacks Ireland but never quite went through with it, ended up caught between 2 stools instead of being himself. Jones needs to impose his style, his tactics and live or die by the consequences. 

I don't think Jones is anything other than a SR yes man. Nothing has changed in terms of tactics, may have just as well kept Ralph.

[chamberlain]

Stoke fan here,

Jones talks a good talk and he certainly had a lot of Stoke fans onside longer than he deserved.  When he first signed he laid out his plans and then signed players that didn't suit that. Make no mistake we would be in league 1 if he wasn't sacked.

He seems to do well at Luton with players that are not well known but I  think supposedly better players don't believe in him or his methods.

It's early days for you but I'd be worried If I was a saints fan . We remember him for walking on the pitch beating his chest on the very rare occasion we won a game and also his god willing comments. 

Good luck I think you might need it .

[Miltonaggro]

29 minutes ago, Midfield_General said:

An uphill wank, but not impossible

Fair play!

[Miltonaggro]

4 minutes ago, chamberlain said:

Stoke fan here,

Jones talks a good talk and he certainly had a lot of Stoke fans onside longer than he deserved.  When he first signed he laid out his plans and then signed players that didn't suit that. Make no mistake we would be in league 1 if he wasn't sacked.

He seems to do well at Luton with players that are not well known but I  think supposedly better players don't believe in him or his methods.

It's early days for you but I'd be worried If I was a saints fan . We remember him for walking on the pitch beating his chest on the very rare occasion we won a game and also his god willing comments. 

Good luck I think you might need it .

Thanks for that insight Chamberlain, it might be that NJ has a covert aversion to red and white stripes?  Tactically and in terms of approach how does he rate with our last mutual Welsh connection, Sparky Hughes? 

[Roboze]

I'd Seriously consider Big Sam now...........  thats a sentence i never thought id say. ffs

 

[Convict Colony]

Is this a record - 1 epl game and its the manager needs to go ?

Edited 27 December, 2022 by Convict Colony

[Turkish]

10 minutes ago, Convict Colony said:

Is this a record - 1 epl game and its the manager needs to go ?

2 games.

6 goals conceded

over a season that’s 0 points, 114 goals conceded 0% win ratio 

The lads have got it in them for this record 

[chamberlain]

55 minutes ago, Miltonaggro said:

Thanks for that insight Chamberlain, it might be that NJ has a covert aversion to red and white stripes?  Tactically and in terms of approach how does he rate with our last mutual Welsh connection, Sparky Hughes? 

Hughes lost the plot with us in the end and should have gone sooner but we had some very good times with him .Jones was an absolute disaster.

[Pamplemousse]

1 hour ago, chamberlain said:

Stoke fan here,

Jones talks a good talk and he certainly had a lot of Stoke fans onside longer than he deserved.  When he first signed he laid out his plans and then signed players that didn't suit that. Make no mistake we would be in league 1 if he wasn't sacked.

He seems to do well at Luton with players that are not well known but I  think supposedly better players don't believe in him or his methods.

It's early days for you but I'd be worried If I was a saints fan . We remember him for walking on the pitch beating his chest on the very rare occasion we won a game and also his god willing comments. 

Good luck I think you might need it .

Let's hope our board act quicker than Stoke did.

If we go down there is no way he should stay, that's for certain.

[adrian lord]

Jones is looking like a suicidal appointment. 

[Mr X]

1 minute ago, adrian lord said:

Jones is looking like a suicidal appointment. 

And who would you say is the main person to blame for appointing him? And are the people who let it happen equally to blame? 

[Doctoroncall]

1 hour ago, chamberlain said:

Stoke fan here,

Jones talks a good talk and he certainly had a lot of Stoke fans onside longer than he deserved.  When he first signed he laid out his plans and then signed players that didn't suit that. Make no mistake we would be in league 1 if he wasn't sacked.

He seems to do well at Luton with players that are not well known but I  think supposedly better players don't believe in him or his methods.

It's early days for you but I'd be worried If I was a saints fan . We remember him for walking on the pitch beating his chest on the very rare occasion we won a game and also his god willing comments. 

Good luck I think you might need it .

Is there a bigger issue at Stoke as it seems other managers have struggled?

As far as NJ goes, it seems he’s the type that cannot shake the second hand car salesman aura to become a coach to lead elite players. 

[chamberlain]

57 minutes ago, Doctoroncall said:

Is there a bigger issue at Stoke as it seems other managers have struggled?

As far as NJ goes, it seems he’s the type that cannot shake the second hand car salesman aura to become a coach to lead elite players. 

You are right and as supporters we speculate but obviously we don't know what goes on in the background. 

NJ is the worst of any manager in our recent history .

[Suhari]

32 minutes ago, chamberlain said:

You are right and as supporters we speculate but obviously we don't know what goes on in the background. 

NJ is the worst of any manager in our recent history .

That's an interesting claim. Let's not be too hasty though: surely the MP and MH standard hasn't been met. Yet.

[Fitzhugh Fella]

6 minutes ago, Suhari said:

That's an interesting claim. Let's not be too hasty though: surely the MP and MH standard hasn't been met. Yet.

We still weren’t relegated then

[USaint]

Frank de Boer had 4 Premier League games at Palace before he was fired (he replaced Big Sam). NJ would beat that record if SR have enough after Fulham

[Turkish]

13 minutes ago, USaint said:

Frank de Boer had 4 Premier League games at Palace before he was fired (he replaced Big Sam). NJ would beat that record if SR have enough after Fulham

be good to get another premier league record under our belts before we disappear out of it.

[Mr X]

50 minutes ago, USaint said:

Frank de Boer had 4 Premier League games at Palace before he was fired (he replaced Big Sam). NJ would beat that record if SR have enough after Fulham

There's not a chance in hell they are going to admit their mistake after three games more like when there's three games remaining! 

[Lighthouse]

1 hour ago, Suhari said:

That's an interesting claim. Let's not be too hasty though: surely the MP and MH standard hasn't been met. Yet.

 

1 hour ago, Fitzhugh Fella said:

We still weren’t relegated then

He’s a Stoke fan.

[Turkish]

5 hours ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

I’ve seen Emma Hayes  mentioned by the odd one or two, but I agree,  now is not the time. 

Just had a hysterectomy so probably not great time for her to take over.

[SW5 SAINT]

9 minutes ago, Mr X said:

There's not a chance in hell they are going to admit their mistake after three games more like when there's three games remaining! 

I imagine if we lose the next two games against Fulham and Forest badly, the fans will be in open revolt. The pressure on SR would then be intense……!

[Lord Duckhunter]

6 minutes ago, SW5 SAINT said:

I imagine if we lose the next two games against Fulham and Forest badly, the fans will be in open revolt. The pressure on SR would then be intense……!

Fuck me, are you for real. We’re hardly the Droogs of Juventus, we might get a few “sack the board” as they leave on the 83rd minute, but it won’t be “intense”. If you think our firm will scare SR into action you’re deluded. 

Edited 27 December, 2022 by Lord Duckhunter

[Toussaint]

4 hours ago, Lee On Solent Saint said:

I don't think Jones is anything other than a SR yes man. Nothing has changed in terms of tactics, may have just as well kept Ralph.

100% he is Rasmus’s proxy manager, no established manager would come here under those terms. 

[Turkish]

Just now, Lord Duckhunter said:

Fuck me, are you for real. We’re hardly the Droogs of Juventus, we might get a few “sack the board” as they leave on the 83rd minute, but it won’t be “intense”. If you think our firm will scare SR into action you’re deluded. 

We wont get any "sack the board" chants, it'll be a few boos with a couple of giant foam hand thumbs down aimed in the direction of the executive box. With them being shouted down by happy clappers screaming "get behind the team FFS" a rendition of OWTSGMI followed by some polite applause.

[Miltonaggro]

Just now, Turkish said:

We wont get any "sack the board" chants, it'll be a few boos with a couple of giant foam hand thumbs down aimed in the direction of the executive box. With them being shouted down by happy clappers screaming "get behind the team FFS" a rendition of OWTSGMI followed by some polite applause.

Fuck that, I’d build an effigy of Rasmus for the Inside Crew to burn on the concourse for Forest if I could afford the wardrobe and headphones! Like many I’ve priced out of contemporary protest - modern football! 

 

[Mr X]

16 minutes ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

Fuck me, are you for real. We’re hardly the Droogs of Juventus, we might get a few “sack the board” as they leave on the 83rd minute, but it won’t be “intense”. If you think our firm will scare SR into action you’re deluded. 

Exactly this...  The only thing that will bring SR to their senses is an empty stadium and we all know that isn't going to happen as long as fans are still buying tickets that's all they care about 

[Suhari]

37 minutes ago, Turkish said:

Just had a hysterectomy so probably not great time for her to take over.

Yeah. She wouldn't have the stomach for it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Yes, I know).

[Lighthouse]

2 minutes ago, Mr X said:

Exactly this...  The only thing that will bring SR to their senses is an empty stadium and we all know that isn't going to happen as long as fans are still buying tickets that's all they care about 

Even that is relatively insignificant compared to PL TV money. The idea that an impassioned protest with hundreds of fans storming the pitch and throwing their STs at the dugout will make any kind of difference is naive and futile. The owners care about money, not how happy we are. 

[Turkish]

4 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

Even that is relatively insignificant compared to PL TV money. The idea that an impassioned protest with hundreds of fans storming the pitch and throwing their STs at the dugout will make any kind of difference is naive and futile. The owners care about money, not how happy we are. 

Ain’t that the truth, the match going fan is now an inconvenience for the modern premier league club. Soccerball is now a tv sport for a tv audience. Fans will only become slightly relevant when we go down they’ll be desperate for bums on seats then but even then it’ll be to screw as much money out of them as they can, 

 

[SotonianWill]

1 hour ago, Fitzhugh Fella said:

We still weren’t relegated then

we had a better team under MP and MH, and we were awful then. 

[Saint Garrett]

I think there should be some banners / signs / chants aimed at SR at craven cottage…they need to be fully aware the fans are not happy. 

[Turkish]

Just now, Saint Garrett said:

I think there should be some banners / signs / chants aimed at SR at craven cottage…they need to be fully aware the fans are not happy. 

If ankersen can do a Ted talk so can i

if ankersen can do a Ted talk so can i

if ankersen can do a Ted talk ankersen can do a Ted talk

if ankersen can do a Ted talk so can i

[Saint_clark]

1 hour ago, USaint said:

Frank de Boer had 4 Premier League games at Palace before he was fired (he replaced Big Sam). NJ would beat that record if SR have enough after Fulham

It'll be interesting to see what happens if we lose convincingly in that game, for sure. 

[hypochondriac]

3 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

It'll be interesting to see what happens if we lose convincingly in that game, for sure. 

If we get humped at Fulham and then against forest I'd be interested to see what they do. Probably nothing. 

[Saint_clark]

7 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

If we get humped at Fulham and then against forest I'd be interested to see what they do. Probably nothing. 

I'd have a lot more trust and respect for SR running our club is they were able to admit their mistakes and attempt to rectify them. Nobody ever expects an owner, chairman, manager or player that never, ever gets it wrong - that would be an absurd expectation. But to blindly stick with poor decisions because of a fear of "admitting" that you got it wrong...that is dangerous. 

I feel bad for Jones, he should never have been put in this situation and maybe in different circumstances he could have made a career in the top flight, but an inexperienced side lacking in confidence led by an inexperienced manager is never going to work.

[The Kraken]

Lawrie McMenemy got us relegated and didn’t get us back up for years. Or something.

[Weston Super Saint]

24 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

If we get humped at Fulham and then against forest I'd be interested to see what they do. Probably nothing. 

He'll be fine as it won't be 'his' team.  He'll get at least 3 transfer windows.

[Turkish]

7 minutes ago, Weston Super Saint said:

He'll be fine as it won't be 'his' team.  He'll get at least 3 transfer windows.

3 transfer windows? 3 1/2 years mate. It ain’t his team until September 1 2026

[AlexLaw76]

Surprised no one has Brought up Fergie comparisons......

[Saint_clark]

Just now, AlexLaw76 said:

Surprised no one has Brought up Fergie comparisons......

For that comparison to work the guy coming in has to have something proven about him. He'd already won a european cup - if Saints replaced Ralph with Tuchel, Mourinho or Ancelotti and we got relegated i'm sure the fanbase would be all for keeping them and letting them rebuild the squad. 

[AlexLaw76]

Quote

“Goals change games and goals change momentum. Goals change attitudes, and that's what happened today because there was no massive problems.”

The above is a quote from Jones....no massive problems.

 

The man is an idiot.