Ruben Selles

[trousers]

4 minutes ago, alehouseboys said:

Lose Saturday and no doubt they’ll be some who’ll moan “why didn’t we wait, “we’re shit again”, etc

Yep, definitely "damned if they do, damned if they don't" territory 

[Wurzel]

4 minutes ago, trousers said:

Wasn't it more a matter of timing rather than Rasmus "not wanting him" per se?

Rasmus may well have brought Selles in with a view to him taking over the reigns in a year or two and thus didn't see him as being ready when the season started to unravel with Ralph and then Jones. Whilst it's only one game admittedly, the Chelsea performance may simply have convinced Rasmus that Selles is ready earlier than he thought he was, thus all we're seeing here is Rasmus bringing the longer term succession plan forward a tad.

Dunno. I guess it's easier to take a more cynical view than that but we are where we are.

I'm not 100% on the time line but pretty sure that he was brought in after RH had given his retire in 2 years hint. If that's right then I think your suggestion is spot on. A sort of serve your apprenticeship first deal.

I am extremely optimistic by his appointment. Just seeing his assured confident sensible pressers makes me think there is something special about this guy, and the players reactions at the end on Saturday confirmed it for me. Dunno, maybe I have my first ever mancrush at the age of 61, but stay up or go down I really hope he's here for the long haul.

[Saint86]

14 minutes ago, trousers said:

Wasn't it more a matter of timing rather than Rasmus "not wanting him" per se?

Rasmus may well have brought Selles in with a view to him taking over the reigns in a year or two and thus didn't see him as being ready when the season started to unravel with Ralph and then Jones. Whilst it's only one game admittedly, the Chelsea performance may simply have convinced Rasmus that Selles is ready earlier than he thought he was, thus all we're seeing here is Rasmus bringing the longer term succession plan forward a tad.

Dunno. I guess it's easier to take a more cynical view than that but we are where we are.

Hah, i don't disagree overly, and as you say - he's here/in now regardless - i think i would potentially have waited to see how he gets on vs Leeds, but the players seem to be behind him and i think he has something about him from the little we've seen. it doesn't change the longer term view though - Struggling to think of many decisions Rasmus "won't get too involved" Ankerson has got right so far. Given that, i could still see Selles keeping us up and getting booted, or him taking us comfortably down and being hired 😆. I guess that's a problem for 3months time.

Edited 24 February, 2023 by Saint86

[Miltonaggro]

Sensible move by both parties I think.  When Jones was sacked we looked dead and buried, so post Chelsea it will be interesting to see what Selles can do with a bit of security of tenure.  Our players en masse are saying they want to play for Ruben so some positive energy at the very least.

[saintant]

13 minutes ago, Scummer said:

Isn't the more likely negative slant that last week was a one-off from Selles, and he turns out to not be a good manager after all? He's managed 2 first team matches in his entire career. One was a pretty poor performance against Sheffield Wednesday, one a slightly fortuitous win against a Chelsea team in bad form. I want him to do well, but it's far too early to make predictions.

Then again, making snap judgements is the accepted way in football, why should that change now 😉

The 'slightly fortuitous' win against a Chelsea side in bad form was achieved by a Southampton team in terrible form masterminded by a guy who had been in full charge for under a week. None of us know how Ruben will do but I can see the logic in giving him the job until the end of the season. He does give off positive vibes but the proof will be in performances and results. We still have a mountain to climb and, if he manages to avoid relegation he'll have done a fantastic job and will be offered a decent contract. The big mistake made by the board and owners and, in particular Ankersen, was obviously appointing Nathan Jones - that decision will be shown to have had huge consequences if we don't beat the drop. 

[Fitzhugh Fella]

I’m not against this as a) it looks like the players are happy b) there doesn’t seem to be anyone else and c) not sure the club can stand yet more upheaval. But the fact remains RA preferred first Nathan Jones and then Marsch over Selles which tells me one of two things. Either Ankersen is clueless or Selles is not cut out to be a PL manager. Either way cause for concern remains. 

Edited 24 February, 2023 by Fitzhugh Fella

[OldNick]

1 minute ago, Fitzhugh Fella said:

I’m not against this as a) it looks like the players are happy b) there doesn’t seem to be anyone else and c) not sure the club can stand yet more upheaval. But the fact remains RA preferred first Nathan Jones and then Marsch over Selles which tells me one of two things. Either Ankersen is clueless or Selles is not cut out to be a PL manager. Either way cause for concern remains. 

Perhaps they couldn't see for looking. May just have tripped into a decent manager, but all the goodwill could be gone at 5pm tomorrow. It disappeared last Saturday when he gave out his first team sheet for some lol

[LaptopSaint]

2 minutes ago, Fitzhugh Fella said:

I’m not against this as a) it looks like the players are happy b) there doesn’t seem to be anyone else and c) not sure the club can stand yet more upheaval. But the fact remains RA preferred first Nathan Jones and then Marsch over Selles which tells me one of two things. Either Ankersen is clueless or Selles is not cut out to be a PL manager. Either way cause for concern remains. 

It certainly suggests Ankersen didn't think he was quite ready, but events have forced his hand. He was laughably wrong about Jones. Let's hope he was initially wrong about Ruben too. 

[DT]

Have to say this is probably quite good timing, as regards the Leeds prep. And he does seem to have the crucial respect of the players, which is probably half the battle. A good appointment, on the face of it, but let's see how we feel tomorrow evening...

 

[trousers]

 

Quote

Ruben Selles has not been shy to state his intentions at Southampton. Within days of assuming temporary control, a proclamation that he wanted it permanently. At his first game, a choice of attire that screamed head coach rather than interim.

"It says everything about his preparation," David Nielsen tells Sky Sports  at the mention of the suit and turtleneck. And Nielsen knows all about that. He had Selles on his coaching staff during spells in charge of Stromsgodset in Norway and Aarhus GF in Denmark.

"If you don't think you can do it, you show up in a tracksuit, you sit down with the rest of the coaching staff for the full game and then you see what happens," adds Nielsen.

 

"If you are sure of yourself, if you are prepared and you know you belong, that's when you show up in a suit. Ruben is in no doubt that he is able to be a head coach."

 

Selles has said as much himself. "I've been feeling it for the last four years," he said last week. It comes across, too, in every conversation with those who have worked with him over the course of a long and varied coaching career which has taken him all over Europe, albeit - at least until now - as a No 2 rather than a No 1.

 

"He knows what he wants," Lars Friis, another member of Nielsen's coaching staff back at Aarhus, tells Sky Sports with a chuckle. "He is a really good, really smart coach and he has a lot of ambition. I think, in this world, you need that."

 

Crucially, though, you also need to deliver. "Of course, none of it matters if Southampton concede a goal in the last five minutes," adds Nielsen. "Ruben told you he was ready, he showed up ready, he looked ready, but most important is that he won the game."

That 1-0 win over Chelsea saw Southampton move within three points of safety. At the end of it, the players could be seen pushing Selles towards a buoyant away end at Stamford Bridge to soak up the adulation of the travelling supporters.

"Now they have a chance of surviving, because of that single game," adds Nielsen. "If they had lost, everyone would be saying they need someone new, they need an experienced manager to come in. Instead, they won and the players showed they want him.

"And of course they want him. They know he is the biggest chance they have of surviving. It's very simple. It's the easiest decision anybody has ever had to take. It's the only choice."

Nielsen's admiration for Selles is obvious. It has been there since they first met while on a coaching course in Spain nearly a decade ago. "I saw what a bright, young and fantastic football mind he was and I hoped we could one day work together," he says.

It was only at that point, though, when he started working up close with Selles for the first time following his appointment as Stromsgodset's head coach in 2015, that Nielsen saw the full extent of the Spaniard's flair for coaching, analysis and player development.

"He is absolutely second to none in a number of ways," says Nielsen. "He has a determination and a willingness to actually help the players with everything, with preparation, with positioning. Everything.

"With Ruben, the players feel they have somebody who can always tell them why things did or didn't go the way they wanted during games.

"When I was a player and the team played badly, managers would just say things like, 'that was terrible, you have embarrassed the fans'. There are still some managers like that.

"But what's happened in recent years is all these young coaches have come through with an underlying plan and story for the games and this is where Ruben is exceptionally good.

"The players know they always go to him with questions. 'Why did this happen? Why didn't that happen?' He is always able to give them an answer and that helps them in the games."

It certainly helped Southampton's players against Chelsea.

Under Nathan Jones, they had lost seven of their last eight games in the Premier League, a lack of familiarity breeding chaos on and off the pitch as they lurched between systems and styles.

Selles, though, already popular with the players following his appointment as assistant in the summer after a successful spell with FC Copenhagen during which he won the Danish title, provided "stability and calm", to quote James Ward-Prowse.

There was a return to the 4-2-2-2 system used by Ralph Hasenhuttl, Jones' predecessor, and, most importantly, a clear game plan which, according to Nielsen, showed Selles' tactical acumen and eye for detail.

"I spoke to him before the Chelsea game," he says. "The game plan he had made with his staff, and the things he told me were going to occur in the game, all went exactly as he said. Exactly. 

"Right down to how he would use any pauses or breaks in play. So, when Cesar Azpilicueta went down, just as Chelsea needed a goal, you could see how Ruben used that time - 10 or 12 minutes - to get his messages across to the players.

"Then, there was really no threat at all at the end of the game and that is the result of Ruben's work. OK, Chelsea had one big chance, of course, but basically Southampton were comfortable.

"Normally, 1-0 up in a difficult away game like that, when you have made all five of your substitutions, the end of the game will be pure defending, but this game wasn't like that.

"And this was his game, you have to understand. All that he put in, with me, with the other managers he has been working with, all the time he has spent by himself, it was all there.

"But it still needed to be carried out and that is the biggest question for anybody: can you produce when your back is against the wall and you really have to? This was the biggest game of Ruben's life and he executed it - every little thing - to perfection.

"It was not luck at all. It was just pure brilliance."

It came as no surprise to Nielsen, who oversaw Aarhus' best season in decades together with Selles in 2019/20, and the same goes for Friis, who has also followed his former colleague closely.

"He is a coach who works very, very hard on the small details," Friis explains. "He doesn't want any form of coincidence on the pitch. He always has a clear direction and leaves nothing to chance."

Selles' attention to detail stems from a background in analysis.

"He is deep into that," adds Friis. "He is born and raised as an analyst, so he is out of that school and that's clear when you work with him. He is great with video. He finds a lot of things by studying video and he makes small clips to help the players."

As for his philosophy, Southampton's performance against Chelsea showed the emphasis Selles places on defensive solidity. "He is a big believer that it's the defensive part that gives the victories," says Friis. "He is really strong on how to organise a team."

It is an approach he has honed during a career in football which has spanned 15 years and included spells in Spain, Greece, Russia and Azerbaijan as well as Norway, Denmark and England.

"Most Spanish coaches, they want to keep the ball away from the opponent for a long time by having possession, but Ruben is more international," explains Nielsen.

"He has tried a lot," adds Friis. "Different styles, different leagues, different cultures and I think that gives you a lot because you need to learn, adapt, and dig into different things."

It has shown him the importance of pragmatism, according to Nielsen. "He's got a strong philosophy on how he wants to defend and this is also because, as a coach, he knows you need to understand what kinds of jobs you are going to end up getting."

"You can have a brilliant offensive mind, but, in his kind of position, there's a really good chance that your first job as a head coach is going to be with a team that is struggling and just needs points."

Selles and Nielsen found that out for themselves at Stromsgodset.

"We were good team and we had fantastic offensive talents, with a young Martin Odegaard as the jewel of that, but 14 months in, we found were losing games 5-3, 5-2," says Nielsen.

"We sat there after we got the sack and we smiled at each other and said, 'Now we know. Never again. Never, never again'. We both developed a really strong defensive philosophy after that.

"Also, with the kinds of jobs we had after that, we had to defend because they were fragile teams. If you concede a goal with a fragile team, then you are in trouble. So, you need to start somewhere."

Southampton, it seems, have come to the same conclusion.

"They won the game against Chelsea 1-0, so what was the best thing for them?" asks Nielsen. "To have someone with an offensive mind? Some offensive genius who can move the full-backs inside and then overlap them with the number eights? No. No, no, no. That's not what is required at this moment."

Instead, they have Selles, an outstanding coach who, to quote Nielsen, has "paid his dues", and whose determination to seize his chance after so many years in the shadows is clear.

"He has been at Southampton six months, two managers have changed, but he is still there," says Nielsen. "Ask yourself why. It's because every time somebody asks the players whether he is helping them, they say yes. So, of course he is still there. He is ready."

 

Edited 24 February, 2023 by trousers

[kitch]

Initially I thought we might have rushed into something here, but on reflection, it's the best we can do. He's liked by the players by all accounts, we saw a totally different display against (an admittedly poor) Chelsea to what we've had recently (bar City in the cup). He's a likeable guy and comes across very well, which although not the most pressing element of a manager, for us Saints fans it's nice to have somebody representing us who doesn't sound like they're three phrases away from a public breakdown, or becoming a meme.

The main point, though, is that who else was going to come in and do better? He's here, he knows the club, he knows the personnel, and there's not exactly a plethora of desirable candidates out there right now. And who'd want to come in, in this situation?! Knowing what we know now, I'm much happier about this than I was about Marsch (and NJ, for that matter).

So yeah, I think when all is considered this is probably the most sensible thing the club could have done. He's got my backing 100%, nothing left but to go for it!

[Holmes_and_Watson]

It's great to read the optimism and happy posts about the difference Selles has made in such a short space of time.

Hopefully this will continue, even over the bumpy run in ahead.

It's a big ask to keep us up, having burned through some of our easier games. Every game in charge is magnified by our position, no more so than the massive game tomorrow. The managerial change at Leeds may make it harder to prepare. But we've played systems relying on our own strengths under Ralph, and Selles is tapping into that.

Hopefully, the players will react well to having some certainty, rather than fall into any complacency. Players who may feel they're not in Selles' immediate plans, may well be asked to step up. There will be knocks, but they all have to be focused on the goal of staying up.

Lots of perfectly valid concerns posted as well, regarding experience, position with 2 previous managers, not being first choice etc. I'm wondering if this is a reaction to Leeds making an appointment, SR failing to bring in anyone behind the scenes, or Rasmus taking time to look at training before backing him, as per all the stuff he said about Jones.

Regardless, it's good to go into such a run in with at least some positivity and belief, no matter how it turns out.

 

[hypochondriac]

41 minutes ago, Fitzhugh Fella said:

I’m not against this as a) it looks like the players are happy b) there doesn’t seem to be anyone else and c) not sure the club can stand yet more upheaval. But the fact remains RA preferred first Nathan Jones and then Marsch over Selles which tells me one of two things. Either Ankersen is clueless or Selles is not cut out to be a PL manager. Either way cause for concern remains. 

Or they considered someone with zero experience to be a risky appointment? He's not going to score highly with their beloved metrics if he has no history. 

Edited 24 February, 2023 by hypochondriac

[Holmes_and_Watson]

3 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Or they considered someone with zero experience to be a risky appointment? He's not going to score highly with their beloved metrics if he has no history. 

Being overlooked and left wondering if he'd get offered it, was all just Rasmus' way of giving him adversity to overcome. Box ticked. 🙂

[Simon3737]

41 minutes ago, Fitzhugh Fella said:

I’m not against this as a) it looks like the players are happy b) there doesn’t seem to be anyone else and c) not sure the club can stand yet more upheaval. But the fact remains RA preferred first Nathan Jones and then Marsch over Selles which tells me one of two things. Either Ankersen is clueless or Selles is not cut out to be a PL manager. Either way cause for concern remains. 

My reading of this decision (and the fact that the Board were unwilling to offer Marsch a contract beyond the summer) is that they’re waiting for Jason Wilcox to join as Director of Football at the end of the season.

They’ve said Wilcox will oversee all football matters including the first team so I assume they’ll want him to pick our managers from now on.

Rasmus has said he was only leading on recruitment temporarily.

Obviously, Selles is highly likely to be chosen to stay if he keeps us up - or even if we get relegated but improve massively and get 30+ points (and go down fighting with a good platform to start a promotion push).

[Mr X]

57 minutes ago, Fitzhugh Fella said:

I’m not against this as a) it looks like the players are happy b) there doesn’t seem to be anyone else and c) not sure the club can stand yet more upheaval. But the fact remains RA preferred first Nathan Jones and then Marsch over Selles which tells me one of two things. Either Ankersen is clueless or Selles is not cut out to be a PL manager. Either way cause for concern remains. 

Well ankerson has to be clueless by definition as he head hunted and appointed genius Jones 

[trousers]

1 minute ago, Mr X said:

Well ankerson has to be clueless by definition as he head hunted and appointed genius Jones 

Would a "clueless" person admit they made a mistake and try to make amends or stick with their bad decision regardless...?  

[Saint_Ash]

1 hour ago, trousers said:

Fully behind this decision.

I guess the only conceivable negative slant anyone could come up with, in deciding to  announce it now rather further down the line, is that the players could subconsciously go into "mission accomplished - our high octane performance Vs Chelsea secured the job for Ruben - we can take our foot off the pedal a bit now" mode. 

Anyway, all good / positive IMO. Onwards and (hopefully) upwards!

Then we'll see how good Selles is, if he let that happen then he's not as good as we thought. I have no doubt he will not let them forget the shit we are in and that we have to fight for points in every game. 

[Andrew Watson]

Good luck Ruben, should be an interesting ride to the end of the season.

[Dusic]

Good move and great opportunity for him.

If we do go down he can be fairly blameless so an opportunity for him to get the job longer term even if that does happen, assuming we continue to show improvement and a plan.

[Roo1976]

Just hope that the squad has enough belief in themselves, and what the manager hopefully wants to create. Going forward they are all big games till the end of the season.C OY S

[Tamesaint]

Ruben would be in a very strong postion if he keeps us up or at least we go down fighting. He would be on the radar of a lot of clubs. If Rasmus and or Wilcox don't appoint him immediately at the season end and start a search for a manager with stats even better than NJ's, then expect Ruben to walk. 

Edited 24 February, 2023 by Tamesaint

[Forester]

In the situation we face, a sensible appointment.  We have poor track record of promoting assistants (Wigley, Gray) but this is a particular short term challenge

[coalman]

Is it wrong to be looking forward to the pre game presser this much?

[trousers]

30 minutes ago, coalman said:

Is it wrong to be looking forward to the pre game presser this much?

Nope

[Holmes_and_Watson]

43 minutes ago, coalman said:

Is it wrong to be looking forward to the pre game presser this much?

No. But your subscription to Selles' onlyfans page for your own personal presser, is a bit. 🙂

[trousers]

 

 

[coalman]

3 minutes ago, Holmes_and_Watson said:

No. But your subscription to Selles' onlyfans page for your own personal presser, is a bit. 🙂

That's not my most embarrassing onlyfans subscription...

[coalman]

1 minute ago, trousers said:

 

 

He also said it's not about him - it's not about the whole squad and coaching staff. And that he only cares about the Leeds game so no point talking about beating the drop.

[SNSUN]

He's brave to take it on but he has my support. Leeds is a must win so he's already under immense pressure. I just hope that, survival or drop, we don't make the mistakes we've made before with Wigley and Gray that he'll be anything other than a short term stop gap. Get to the summer then reassess the situation. 

 

It did cross my mind that, while we probably couldn't afford him, if Selles respects Benitez most as manager then maybe bringing him in as DofF wouldn't be such a bad idea...

[derry]

A successful team is one where the team performance is better than the sum of the parts. If Selles continues his current relationship with the players that could be the result. He, the coaches and the players could come together and raise our level of performance through teamwork. There is no doubt in my mind that whatever the situation with Ralph there was a lack of bonding between Jones, his team and the players. I hope this works and we can get on a run.

[kelkel31]

I think Selles first aim has to be achieving an average of 1 point a game. That has to be target number 1 for achieving some respectability for the season and give him a good chance of gaining the role for next season.

If he can make a good dent on that total (16 points) quite quickly, something like 9 points by the end of the Brentford game(not entirely out of the realms of possibility including the Chelsea game) we would have a real chance of staying up. I'm thinking unless form changes drastically across the league 36 might just squeeze safety. 

A win tomorrow and a couple of useful other results will see a dramatic shift in the betting for us to get relegated i would suggest.

[Rivers]

Fantastic news!

An excellent decision from the Club. It is nice to know that we are in fact capable of making them.

Great timing too, right in the lead up to the next Ruben Selles Press Conference Masterclass.

This is about so much more than a great win at Chelsea. This is all about Uniting our Football Club.

The players all not only want him, but love working with and playing for him. We've been told this by a number of our respected sources, yet crucially, we can all so clearly see it for ourselves too. It is obvious. Like the snippet we had earlier in the week said: Ruben has a way of being with the players, that makes you want to run through brick walls for him.

It's what happens, when you recognise genuine Leadership.

Be it poorly, well, or somewhere in between, managers manage. Whereas leaders lead. And as I know full well from my own life experience, when you know you have a quality inspirational leader you can trust, you will follow them anywhere, and even abject fear will not stop you.

A great leader helps you to feel the fear, and do it anyway. You could see exactly that against Chelsea, the way we were bravely pinging the ball about under pressure in tight spaces. How many times have we fucked that up in the past,  getting caught out and beaten as a result. 

Ruben has already convinced them to believe in themselves again, and has therefore instilled hope. They will follow him into battle, and even if it is not ultimately enough to keep us up, they will metaphorically die trying.

Now it is up to us to vociferously support Ruben and our Team in their efforts. We have our Club back, and finally, we once again have something to believe in.

 

We've got Selles, Ruben Selles.....

[bpsaint]

No doubt that cunt Rasmus will take the glory if this decision pays off and Selles keeps us up. 
 

 

[Dusic]

5 minutes ago, bpsaint said:

No doubt that cunt Rasmus will take the glory if this decision pays off and Selles keeps us up. 
 

 

Lets hope so.

[davefizzy14]

The right decision from the club. Ruben has got an aura about him and is ambitious. The players all love and respect him

[S-Clarke]

Bit of a no brainer really. When we first brought in Selles he was incredibly highly rated through all you could find, previous club appraisals etc. So I always had a suspicion in the back of my mind that this guy was earmarked as Ralph's potential successor and in the mould of Thomas Frank.

But the timing of Ralph going ended up being a little too soon, but in hindsight he'd have been better than bloody Nathan Jones so maybe they should have made that call then if they couldn't find anyone better than Jones.

But in relation to now, I don't see what else they can do. There aren't any high quality managers who will want to come to a club like ourselves in the position we are in, we'd only be bringing in a manager for a short-term situation (like we did with Hughes). Marsch was the only who made any logical long-term sense, but again even he didn't fancy the challenge.

With Selles you have the best of both worlds - you have someone already integrated in the club and someone who has earned the respect of the players, the coaches, and he knows everyone inside out. He's not going to be turned off by the opportunity to become a manager, even if it's for 4 months, so if it works out and he somehow keeps us up then give him the keys to the city and a 10year contract! But if the worst happens then we re-evaluate in the summer and decide where we go, maybe with him returning as coach. We've got a lot of wiggle room here and this is someone who in the short space of time has managed to bring everyone together, and given where we were that is an achievement in it's self.

Still, it's only Chelsea so far - bigger tests to come, no bigger than tomorrow really. I just hope last week wasn't a false dawn and he really can get a tune out of this bunch, and I do believe we have a telented group of young players - they've just lacked guidance throughout the season (and goals).

Edited 24 February, 2023 by S-Clarke

[saintant]

If Ruben out foxes his fellow compatriot Gracia tomorrow it will cement the feelings we all had after his impact last week. This is a huge game and a win will build incredible momentum and confidence because we'll find ourselves so much closer to a shot at surviving and might even be outside the bottom 3. It's sure to be a nervy one for both sides and I'm hoping Ruben will have our players more relaxed than theirs. The first goal is going to be key along with being the team to settle quickest and get out the blocks.

[Dusic]

The main Selles related thing about tomorrow is that if we do lose, it shouldn't be a case of "well we shouldn't have appointed him yesterday".

Every team and manager loses games. If we go down it won't be because of Selles.

The difference in the team vs Chelsea shows he has made an impact. It shows he knows tactically how to set the team up and everything suggests the players are behind him. He also represents the club well.

He deserves us to judge him over a run of games and also to be judged considering the context.

He could do a very good job, be worthy of a longer contract and we still lose tomorrow or still go down.

Out situation is still pretty dismal in terms of the table but in a sense what happens from now is a free hit because based on the season until now we deserve to be relegated. 

Selles has no pressure.

[Osvaldorama]

He has an aura about him. He instantly has my respect as soon as he speaks & he seems like a man that knows exactly what he’s doing. A real breath of fresh air.
 

If he can match his on-field performances with his press conference performances we have truly found an amazing manager... and what a story it would be if he pulls off a miracle and keeps us up. 

[CougarSaint]

9 hours ago, Rivers said:

Fantastic news!

An excellent decision from the Club. It is nice to know that we are in fact capable of making them.

Great timing too, right in the lead up to the next Ruben Selles Press Conference Masterclass.

This is about so much more than a great win at Chelsea. This is all about Uniting our Football Club.

The players all not only want him, but love working with and playing for him. We've been told this by a number of our respected sources, yet crucially, we can all so clearly see it for ourselves too. It is obvious. Like the snippet we had earlier in the week said: Ruben has a way of being with the players, that makes you want to run through brick walls for him.

It's what happens, when you recognise genuine Leadership.

Be it poorly, well, or somewhere in between, managers manage. Whereas leaders lead. And as I know full well from my own life experience, when you know you have a quality inspirational leader you can trust, you will follow them anywhere, and even abject fear will not stop you.

A great leader helps you to feel the fear, and do it anyway. You could see exactly that against Chelsea, the way we were bravely pinging the ball about under pressure in tight spaces. How many times have we fucked that up in the past,  getting caught out and beaten as a result. 

Ruben has already convinced them to believe in themselves again, and has therefore instilled hope. They will follow him into battle, and even if it is not ultimately enough to keep us up, they will metaphorically die trying.

Now it is up to us to vociferously support Ruben and our Team in their efforts. We have our Club back, and finally, we once again have something to believe in.

 

We've got Selles, Ruben Selles.....

This always 

[grezz]

The management of our club have taken a lot of flak lately, Rasmus Ankersen especially. Everyone knows he dropped the ball with NJ but the villification has, in my opinion, been over the top. RA has a good record of making good decisions over his football career. He made a mistake, he prolonged the mistake and we are where we are. Does anyone doubt he has our best interest at heart? I don't. 

I don't know if this appointment of Selles is an RA decision but if it is he's nailed this one. Continuity, stability.........that is precisely what we need right now and if, in the end, it turns out Ruben Selles was not the man to take us forward (I believe he is, even after this one Chelsea game) then I will still believe that this decision was the right decision for our club in the here and now.

So credit where it's due. NJ was a mistake, fix it and move on, well done for having learnt from it.

 

 

Edited 24 February, 2023 by grezz

[EBS1980]

So according the The Athletic this morning a World Cup knockout stage manager sent their 30 page CV to the club this week. Wonder who that was, probsbly only 1 of 5 or 6 it’s likely to have been tbh. 

[CB Fry]

1 minute ago, EBS1980 said:

So according the The Athletic this morning a World Cup knockout stage manager sent their 30 page CV to the club this week. Wonder who that was, probsbly only 1 of 5 or 6 it’s likely to have been tbh. 

Murat Yakin Murat Yakin Murat Yakin ❤❤❤❤❤

[Saint Garrett]

13 minutes ago, EBS1980 said:

So according the The Athletic this morning a World Cup knockout stage manager sent their 30 page CV to the club this week. Wonder who that was, probsbly only 1 of 5 or 6 it’s likely to have been tbh. 

Gareth Southgate 

[santolijador]

 

[trousers]

7 minutes ago, santolijador said:

 

Our terrace chant writers dodged a bullet there... 

[Hopper]

The thing that pleases me the most in this latest press conference is that he had a plan for every player and had honest conversations with everyone about their roles between now and the end of the season.

With a squad of 30 players this would have been really important in setting expectations and managing those personalities.

It does look like we might not see much of Sam Edozie, Aribo etc. as they were in the B team and likely out of the squad for a bit but it does mean he has a good idea of his best 11/Matchday squad.
 

This has been the most inconsistent aspect of the season to me, with constant changes to personnel and shape so let’s hope he knows this squad better than us and gets them playing the way he wants!

I thought our season was dead and buried after Wolves. Now I’ve got SOME hope no matter how small… 😅

[Toadhall Saint]

1 hour ago, EBS1980 said:

So according the The Athletic this morning a World Cup knockout stage manager sent their 30 page CV to the club this week. Wonder who that was, probsbly only 1 of 5 or 6 it’s likely to have been tbh. 

30 pages is not a CV more like a large pamphlet 

[Charlie Wayman]

Let's hope that all this goodwill towards Selles will not be dissipated this afternoon if we get a set-back at Elland Road. We need a long term project of stability not knee-jerk reactions to every result. All we need to see are real signs of progress in our playing style and the team giving of its best against a side that are equally as desperate as us to avoid the drop. It will be a battle from beginning to end especially if nobody scores in the first half.

Ideally for Saints will be if Sulemana and Onuachu can start finding the back of the net in the first half and we can carry a 2-0 lead into the break. If not and Leeds grab one then we will be in a desperate untidy fight for our lives.

 

Whatever guys and gals, give the new coaching set-up a chance so please no post match slagging from the usual doom and gloom mongers who only visit this site to vent their spleen (when we lose) against everything and everyone. Hope is our future and one result either way shouldn't change that.

Edited 25 February, 2023 by Charlie Wayman