Russell Martin

[DT]

Set to be appointed at Rangers, says Talksport. Will do well there. Big job for him. Which way now for Leicester?

[sockeye]

1 minute ago, DT said:

Set to be appointed at Rangers, says Talksport. Will do well there. Big job for him. Which way now for Leicester?

Wouldn't be surprised if they stick with RVN at this point

[tdmickey3]

4 minutes ago, DT said:

Set to be appointed at Rangers, says Talksport. Will do well there. Big job for him. Which way now for Leicester?

Great news for Celtic

[Midfield_General]

That's a good move for him. He'll be able to look a lot better up there bullying pub teams every other week than he would have done starting on -12 in a tougher league at Leicester. He'll be able to say he's coached a team to runners-up in their country's top division, and managed in the Europa League, both of which represent another step forward for his own personal profile. He should be able to have a shot at a domestic cup final reasonably easily too. In terms of progressing his own CV, he's made a good choice. 

Edited 3 June, 2025 by Midfield_General

[coalman]

It's on Sky News now as breaking news "Rangers close to appointing Russell Martin as new head coach"

[gurru991]

1 minute ago, coalman said:

It's on Sky News now as breaking news "Rangers close to appointing Russell Martin as new head coach"

Words alone cannot express how happy I am to see him sign for Rangers.  We dodged a bullet !!!

[trousers]

10 minutes ago, DT said:

Set to be appointed at Rangers, says Talksport.

You've been well and truly scooped mate 

[Badger]

I thought QPR or even Stafford Rangers were more his level.

[Danbert]

He got us promotion and seems a decent bloke. I wish him well.

[CB Fry]

I said Rangers would be absolutely perfect for him (probably on this thread somewhere). 85% possession vs Motherwell will be right up his street. And he will win a trophy or two.

[Colinjb]

The relative strength of Rangers will help mask his shortcomings.

[coalman]

It's a great move for Martin. He gets Champions League football and the reins of the 2nd horse in a 2 horse race. It's a great move for us as it gets his wages off the books and may result in some of his core players moving with him. All the best to him.

Edited 3 June, 2025 by coalman

[Dusic]

Good move for him but doubt Rangers could afford too many of our players, fees or wages.

[Badger]

33 minutes ago, DT said:

Set to be appointed at Rangers, says Talksport. Will do well there. Big job for him. Which way now for Leicester?

Rohl may be the last man standing. And Leicester might now be his last option.

Seems a likely marriage of (in)convenience. 
 

Would have liked Rohl at Saints, but he certainly hasn’t managed his options well it seems. Added the Chansiri factor as well and it’s been a bit of a clusterfuck on his part. 

Edited 3 June, 2025 by Badger

[CB Fry]

6 minutes ago, Badger said:

Rohl may be the last man standing. And Leicester might now be his last option.

It's a crazy idea but maybe Leicester City will appoint a manager with no connection to Southampton whatsoever? The world doesn't completely revolve around us.

[coalman]

1 minute ago, CB Fry said:

It's a crazy idea but maybe Leicester City will appoint a manager with no connection to Southampton whatsoever? The world doesn't completely revolve around us.

That's what I'm afraid of.

[Midfield_General]

14 minutes ago, coalman said:

It's a great move for Martin. He gets Champions League football 

They are in the qualifiers but would need to get through three rounds of qualifying to reach the actual Champions' League stage. 

1st round of qualifying - they'll need to beat either Panathinaikos (Greece), Servette (Switzerland) or Brann (Norway). 

If they get through that - they could play RB Salzburg, Fenerbache, Nice or Viktoria Plzen (Czechia). 

If they get through that - they could play Benfica or Club Brugge. 

Not easy, by any means. 

[saintant]

53 minutes ago, tdmickey3 said:

Even in Swansea?

Or Glasgow or Leicester?

[EBS1980]

He got us promoted and seems a good guy, I wish him well at Rangers - feel free to sign some of our squad.

yeah he failed in PL but Scotland is a 2 team league of which Rangers have finished second for many a year, so good luck to him I say.

[S-Clarke]

He'll have a lot of possession up there for sure. I don't think he'll need to worry too much about defending as the level is so bad, so in theory he should do well. It may be a bit propoganda-ish at times and will probably bore the living daylights out of the Rangers fans.

If he doesn't do well though and flops up there than that's that for his philosophy.

[gurru991]

The Scottish Premiership is a bit of joke in all honesty, probably on a par with League Two in overall quality. Martin can play his tippy tappy football & look good against ten of the teams in a twelve team league but the games that really matter against Celtic could be a disaster.

[Winnersaint]

Could be interesting if he comes in for some of ours especially as they're part of the 49ers organisation now and will have cash to spend.. 

 

 

[Dman]

1 hour ago, CB Fry said:

I said Rangers would be absolutely perfect for him (probably on this thread somewhere). 85% possession vs Motherwell will be right up his street. And he will win a trophy or two.

Yeah, he'll do alright there. Will probably be able to pick up some half decent players as well, if the new ownership are willing to put their hand in their pocket.

He'll be judged on games vs Celtic and in europe. Both of which I think he'll struggle significantly in. 

[Lord Duckhunter]

[Badger]

5 minutes ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

McLego 

[Turkish]

1 hour ago, John B said:

Unsupring really as outside Southampton he is thought to be a decent and articulate manager

nope, i've know an MK Dons fan and they think he's an arrogant, stubborn prick as well. 

[Turkish]

1 hour ago, John B said:

Unsupring really as outside Southampton he is thought to be a decent and articulate manager

nope, i've know an MK Dons fan and they think he's an arrogant, stubborn prick as well. 

[Chez]

31 minutes ago, Winnersaint said:

Could be interesting if he comes in for some of ours especially as they're part of the 49ers organisation now and will have cash to spend.. 

 

 

I suspect they'd need CL qualification (I think they have 2 possibly 3 rounds of qualifying) to have the funds necessary to buy most of our players. I'd of thought, even with relegation clauses, many of our players would be on more than £30k a week, which I am guessing is about the amount their top earners get. I am guessing here though.

[AlexLaw76]

If he wins a derby and/or a cup, he will literally lick himself stupid 

Edited 3 June, 2025 by AlexLaw76

[Forester]

I think he will do well, a good match for him.  Despite the snarky comments he did a good job in championship, but was tactically inflexible in Premier League and it was a disaster given inferior players.

Some coaches get more out of good players than many by creating a good environment and I think he is that type.  So needs better than average players, but may then play that strong hand well.

[LeBizzier69]

1 hour ago, Turkish said:

nope, i've know an MK Dons fan and they think he's an arrogant, stubborn prick as well. 

He must be a close family friend to think that?

[Football Special]

3 hours ago, CB Fry said:

It's a crazy idea but maybe Leicester City will appoint a manager with no connection to Southampton whatsoever? The world doesn't completely revolve around us.

Got to be a chance they stick with RVN surely with costs involved?

[saintant]

45 minutes ago, Forester said:

I think he will do well, a good match for him.  Despite the snarky comments he did a good job in championship, but was tactically inflexible in Premier League and it was a disaster given inferior players.

Some coaches get more out of good players than many by creating a good environment and I think he is that type.  So needs better than average players, but may then play that strong hand well.

One of his problems in our promotion season was getting the side to function against a team playing a low block. He'll face that most games at Rangers.

[skintsaint]

7 minutes ago, saintant said:

One of his problems in our promotion season was getting the side to function against a team playing a low block. He'll face that most games at Rangers.

Yep, and will struggle against teams that defend deep.

[suewhistle]

That should be fun, patiently passing it around at the back increasing the possession stats and waiting an opportunity that doesn't come whilst at the other end the opposition wait equally patiently..

Meanwhile the crowd shout unintelligible advice to the bench.. I see we have a relieved Leicester fan here; have any Rangers fans dropped in yet?

[coalman]

1 hour ago, saintant said:

One of his problems in our promotion season was getting the side to function against a team playing a low block. He'll face that most games at Rangers.

But he'll be facing it with much better players relative to his opposition. More so than his Championship season with us.

That being said he's going to have weeks where he drops points against those teams.

He's also going to have the fans on his case pretty quickly if he doesn't start well.

[Turkish]

[Dr Who?]

On 01/06/2025 at 21:40, Appy said:

I think I could get Rangers to a top 2 finish 

That was my point. 

[SaintsBarry74]

Not the most popular figure among Rangers fans, either.

Edited 3 June, 2025 by SaintsBarry74

[Holmes_and_Watson]

12 minutes ago, SaintsBarry74 said:

Not the most popular figure among Rangers fans, either.

They have a good grasp on what they are getting. 🙂

[SaintsBarry74]

3 minutes ago, Holmes_and_Watson said:

They have a good grasp on what they are getting. 🙂

I’ve been quite surprised by how many Rangers and Leicester fans picked up on RM’s stubborn brand of suicideball last season. We’re hardly a top-six club with wall-to-wall media coverage, which just goes to show how much of a laughing stock we really became.

[Osvaldorama]

2 hours ago, SaintsBarry74 said:

Not the most popular figure among Rangers fans, either.

 

I find it so funny that the fans of all the clubs he’s managed consistently see through his bollocks, yet club owners still decide to pay him obscene money 

Oh to be a football manager, eh  

 

[east-stand-nic]

I truly believe he will fail. If they give him the whole season he will finish lower than top 2. I suspect he will be gone by new year as Rangers sit 3 rd or 4th, or worse. Scottish sides may lack quality but they are often committed and fight till the end. They will harass his teams and put them under constant pressure. This will not end well. 

[Football Special]

1 hour ago, east-stand-nic said:

I truly believe he will fail. If they give him the whole season he will finish lower than top 2. I suspect he will be gone by new year as Rangers sit 3 rd or 4th, or worse. Scottish sides may lack quality but they are often committed and fight till the end. They will harass his teams and put them under constant pressure. This will not end well. 

You could say the same about the championship though and he got us promoted? 

[Lord Duckhunter]

Not every Rangers fan is unhappy . Just seen this online, McFabrice is putting a positive spin on Lego’s season, 

 

The one thing we know we’ll get with Martin as manger is he QUICKLY implements his style of play

Focuses on possession, passing accuracy and building up from the back

Hard to judge him on Southampton as they had such a bad season. Few games to look at from his time there

Won every game in the Carabao Cup (stoke, Everton and Cardiff)

Beat Everton in the league
Drew away to Brighton
Drew with Ipswich

Only lost by a single goal to-
• Aston Villa away Southampton had more possession 53%. 485 passes. 90% successful to Villa’s 409 and 86% successful

• Liverpool home. Liverpool scored a late penalty to win. Less possession but still 38% against Liverpool. Scored twice and lost to a late penalty

• Man City away. Lost 1-0. 42% possession. 461 passes with a 90% successful rate

• Leicester home. 2-0 up at HT. Get a red card second half and lose 3-2. Almost DOUBLE the shots on target that Leicester had. 41% possession. Possession got a lot worse second half when down to 10 men. 

• Forest home. 65% possession. 656 passes. Lost 1-0

• Newcastle away. Lost 1-0 but had 78% possession. 19 shots and 649 passes to Newcastle’s 181. Dunno how they managed to lose this one 😂

Look at his games and their posession and passes

Forest home- 65% and 656 passes
Man Utd home- 44% and 480 passes
Ipswich home- 54% and 492 passes
Leicester home- 41% and 359 passes
Stoke home- 79% 
Everton home- 65%
Liverpool home- 38% and 359 passes
Chelsea home- 45% and 429 passes
Tottenham home- 41% and 426 passes
Newcastle away- 78% and 649 passes
Cardiff away- 73%
Brentford away- 63% and 621 passes
Everton away 75%
Bournemouth away- 60% and 568 passes
Arsenal away 41% and 395 passes
Man City away- 42% and 461 passes
Wolves away- 71% and 673 passes
Brighton away- 48% and 414 passes
Villa away- 53% and 485 passes

Average possession is 56% per game
Average passes per game is 497

[sockeye]

1 minute ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

Not every Rangers fan is unhappy . Just seen this online, McFabrice is putting a positive spin on Lego’s season, 

 

The one thing we know we’ll get with Martin as manger is he QUICKLY implements his style of play

Focuses on possession, passing accuracy and building up from the back

Hard to judge him on Southampton as they had such a bad season. Few games to look at from his time there

Won every game in the Carabao Cup (stoke, Everton and Cardiff)

Beat Everton in the league
Drew away to Brighton
Drew with Ipswich

Only lost by a single goal to-
• Aston Villa away Southampton had more possession 53%. 485 passes. 90% successful to Villa’s 409 and 86% successful

• Liverpool home. Liverpool scored a late penalty to win. Less possession but still 38% against Liverpool. Scored twice and lost to a late penalty

• Man City away. Lost 1-0. 42% possession. 461 passes with a 90% successful rate

• Leicester home. 2-0 up at HT. Get a red card second half and lose 3-2. Almost DOUBLE the shots on target that Leicester had. 41% possession. Possession got a lot worse second half when down to 10 men. 

• Forest home. 65% possession. 656 passes. Lost 1-0

• Newcastle away. Lost 1-0 but had 78% possession. 19 shots and 649 passes to Newcastle’s 181. Dunno how they managed to lose this one 😂

Look at his games and their posession and passes

Forest home- 65% and 656 passes
Man Utd home- 44% and 480 passes
Ipswich home- 54% and 492 passes
Leicester home- 41% and 359 passes
Stoke home- 79% 
Everton home- 65%
Liverpool home- 38% and 359 passes
Chelsea home- 45% and 429 passes
Tottenham home- 41% and 426 passes
Newcastle away- 78% and 649 passes
Cardiff away- 73%
Brentford away- 63% and 621 passes
Everton away 75%
Bournemouth away- 60% and 568 passes
Arsenal away 41% and 395 passes
Man City away- 42% and 461 passes
Wolves away- 71% and 673 passes
Brighton away- 48% and 414 passes
Villa away- 53% and 485 passes

Average possession is 56% per game
Average passes per game is 497

Too much obsessing over stats about games they didn't watch.

If you actually watch Saints games, it is clear, Russell Martin's style is extremely fragile as there are many more opportunities to make individual mistakes due to the passing around the back, which can be pounced upon by the opposition. Also, it struggles to break down low blocks. If all you're doing is passing around your own half then sides will be happy for you to have possession, because they can break it and then quickly counterattack.

Of course we already know that. But it just shows how uninformative the stats are out of context.

[Holmes_and_Watson]

8 minutes ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

Not every Rangers fan is unhappy . Just seen this online, McFabrice is putting a positive spin on Lego’s season, 

 

The one thing we know we’ll get with Martin as manger is he QUICKLY implements his style of play

Focuses on possession, passing accuracy and building up from the back

Hard to judge him on Southampton as they had such a bad season. Few games to look at from his time there

Won every game in the Carabao Cup (stoke, Everton and Cardiff)

Beat Everton in the league
Drew away to Brighton
Drew with Ipswich

Only lost by a single goal to-
• Aston Villa away Southampton had more possession 53%. 485 passes. 90% successful to Villa’s 409 and 86% successful

• Liverpool home. Liverpool scored a late penalty to win. Less possession but still 38% against Liverpool. Scored twice and lost to a late penalty

• Man City away. Lost 1-0. 42% possession. 461 passes with a 90% successful rate

• Leicester home. 2-0 up at HT. Get a red card second half and lose 3-2. Almost DOUBLE the shots on target that Leicester had. 41% possession. Possession got a lot worse second half when down to 10 men. 

• Forest home. 65% possession. 656 passes. Lost 1-0

• Newcastle away. Lost 1-0 but had 78% possession. 19 shots and 649 passes to Newcastle’s 181. Dunno how they managed to lose this one 😂

Look at his games and their posession and passes

Forest home- 65% and 656 passes
Man Utd home- 44% and 480 passes
Ipswich home- 54% and 492 passes
Leicester home- 41% and 359 passes
Stoke home- 79% 
Everton home- 65%
Liverpool home- 38% and 359 passes
Chelsea home- 45% and 429 passes
Tottenham home- 41% and 426 passes
Newcastle away- 78% and 649 passes
Cardiff away- 73%
Brentford away- 63% and 621 passes
Everton away 75%
Bournemouth away- 60% and 568 passes
Arsenal away 41% and 395 passes
Man City away- 42% and 461 passes
Wolves away- 71% and 673 passes
Brighton away- 48% and 414 passes
Villa away- 53% and 485 passes

Average possession is 56% per game
Average passes per game is 497

A quick peek at footy stats shows Rangers were getting an overall 65% possession anyway in 24/25.

Hiring him, because you want higher possession, is madness. As one of the big two against teams holding
out for a point or a set piece, they get plenty of the ball already.

Citing his narrow defeats is also madness domestically as the expectation is to win every game.  The expectation and approach required are very different. Hoping to have more control in European games is different. Perhaps one of those adaptable managers could have more than one approach.

Odd to say it's hard to judge him on our bad season, when he was in charge of it, and led the way to the drop.

Martin's style took a bit to settle in, for various reasons. While we did have that unbeaten run, I never got the feeling it had all clicked into place. Some of it yes, and in some games a lot, but overall not.

Someone has their tartan bonnet on a bit too tight I think.

 

[Oldandtired]

1 hour ago, Football Special said:

You could say the same about the championship though and he got us promoted? 

Some believe we were promoted despite him.

[Fabrice29]

Did we really struggle to break down low blocks that much by the way? Think there was only a couple of games we didn’t score in in the Championship. Forest this season in the Prem could be considered a low block. Think being one of the top scorers in the league as a team and having the actual top scorer of the league feels like a pretty good retort to that theory. 

[vectraman]

1 hour ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

Not every Rangers fan is unhappy . Just seen this online, McFabrice is putting a positive spin on Lego’s season, 

 

The one thing we know we’ll get with Martin as manger is he QUICKLY implements his style of play

Focuses on possession, passing accuracy and building up from the back

Hard to judge him on Southampton as they had such a bad season. Few games to look at from his time there

Won every game in the Carabao Cup (stoke, Everton and Cardiff)

Beat Everton in the league
Drew away to Brighton
Drew with Ipswich

Only lost by a single goal to-
• Aston Villa away Southampton had more possession 53%. 485 passes. 90% successful to Villa’s 409 and 86% successful

• Liverpool home. Liverpool scored a late penalty to win. Less possession but still 38% against Liverpool. Scored twice and lost to a late penalty

• Man City away. Lost 1-0. 42% possession. 461 passes with a 90% successful rate

• Leicester home. 2-0 up at HT. Get a red card second half and lose 3-2. Almost DOUBLE the shots on target that Leicester had. 41% possession. Possession got a lot worse second half when down to 10 men. 

• Forest home. 65% possession. 656 passes. Lost 1-0

• Newcastle away. Lost 1-0 but had 78% possession. 19 shots and 649 passes to Newcastle’s 181. Dunno how they managed to lose this one 😂

Look at his games and their posession and passes

Forest home- 65% and 656 passes
Man Utd home- 44% and 480 passes
Ipswich home- 54% and 492 passes
Leicester home- 41% and 359 passes
Stoke home- 79% 
Everton home- 65%
Liverpool home- 38% and 359 passes
Chelsea home- 45% and 429 passes
Tottenham home- 41% and 426 passes
Newcastle away- 78% and 649 passes
Cardiff away- 73%
Brentford away- 63% and 621 passes
Everton away 75%
Bournemouth away- 60% and 568 passes
Arsenal away 41% and 395 passes
Man City away- 42% and 461 passes
Wolves away- 71% and 673 passes
Brighton away- 48% and 414 passes
Villa away- 53% and 485 passes

Average possession is 56% per game
Average passes per game is 497

Saints 4 Arsenal 0.

Boxing Day game under Koeman.

28% possession for Saints.

Possession is a stat you can shove up your arse when it achieves very little. 

At no point sat watching this game was it boring, nor did it feel like we never saw the ball. I’m hoping Will Still’s style will be similar 🤞🤞